Intertek Group (ITRK) Competitors

Rentokil Initial (LON:RTO) and Intertek Group (LON:ITRK) are both mid-cap industrials companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their analyst recommendations, earnings, institutional ownership, dividends, risk, profitability, media sentiment and valuation.

Which has more volatility and risk, RTO or ITRK?

Rentokil Initial has a beta of 0.55, meaning that its stock price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Intertek Group has a beta of 0.63, meaning that its stock price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has higher earnings and valuation, RTO or ITRK?

Rentokil Initial has higher revenue and earnings than Intertek Group. Rentokil Initial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Intertek Group, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Rentokil Initial	£5.38B	1.70	£389.49M	£15.59	23.41
Intertek Group	£3.34B	2.21	£307.45M	£191.86	24.03

Do analysts rate RTO or ITRK?

Rentokil Initial currently has a consensus target price of GBX 435, indicating a potential upside of 19.18%. Intertek Group has a consensus target price of GBX 5,175, indicating a potential upside of 12.26%. Given Rentokil Initial's stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Rentokil Initial is more favorable than Intertek Group.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Rentokil Initial	0 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67
Intertek Group	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in RTO or ITRK?

99.0% of Rentokil Initial shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 71.6% of Intertek Group shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Rentokil Initial shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Intertek Group shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Is RTO or ITRK more profitable?

Intertek Group has a net margin of 9.19% compared to Rentokil Initial's net margin of 7.25%. Intertek Group's return on equity of 23.46% beat Rentokil Initial's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Rentokil Initial	7.25%	9.50%	4.11%
Intertek Group	9.19%	23.46%	9.49%

Does the media prefer RTO or ITRK?

In the previous week, Rentokil Initial had 4 more articles in the media than Intertek Group. MarketBeat recorded 10 mentions for Rentokil Initial and 6 mentions for Intertek Group. Intertek Group's average media sentiment score of 0.58 beat Rentokil Initial's score of 0.42 indicating that Intertek Group is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Rentokil Initial	0 Very Positive mention(s)	6 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Intertek Group	0 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is RTO or ITRK a better dividend stock?

Rentokil Initial pays an annual dividend of GBX 9 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Intertek Group pays an annual dividend of GBX 128 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.8%. Rentokil Initial pays out 57.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Intertek Group pays out 66.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years.

Summary

Intertek Group beats Rentokil Initial on 10 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.