Intertek Group (ITRK) Competitors

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

Do analysts rate RTO or ITRK?

Rentokil Initial currently has a consensus target price of GBX 393.80, indicating a potential downside of 1.48%. Intertek Group has a consensus target price of GBX 5,300, indicating a potential upside of 9.87%. Given Intertek Group's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Intertek Group is more favorable than Rentokil Initial.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Rentokil Initial	1 Sell rating(s)	1 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.25
Intertek Group	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.40

Is RTO or ITRK a better dividend stock?

Rentokil Initial pays an annual dividend of GBX 0.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.0%. Intertek Group pays an annual dividend of GBX 1.57 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.0%. Rentokil Initial pays out 92.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future. Intertek Group pays out 70.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Intertek Group is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Does the media favor RTO or ITRK?

In the previous week, Rentokil Initial had 4 more articles in the media than Intertek Group. MarketBeat recorded 6 mentions for Rentokil Initial and 2 mentions for Intertek Group. Rentokil Initial's average media sentiment score of 0.12 beat Intertek Group's score of 0.00 indicating that Rentokil Initial is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Rentokil Initial	0 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Intertek Group	0 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral

Which has higher earnings and valuation, RTO or ITRK?

Rentokil Initial has higher revenue and earnings than Intertek Group. Intertek Group is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Rentokil Initial, 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	£6.92B	1.45	£389.49M	£0.13	3,114.60
Intertek Group	£3.40B	2.19	£307.45M	£2.24	2,158.39

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%

Which has more risk & volatility, RTO or ITRK?

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

Do institutionals & insiders hold more shares of RTO or ITRK?

78.6% of Rentokil Initial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 68.6% of Intertek Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.8% of Rentokil Initial shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.2% of Intertek Group shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Intertek Group beats Rentokil Initial on 10 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.