Intertek Group (ITRK) Competitors

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

Which has preferable valuation & earnings, ITRK or RTO?

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
Intertek Group	£3.40B	2.24	£307.45M	£2.24	2,214.45
Rentokil Initial	£6.92B	1.49	£389.49M	£0.13	3,194.08

Is ITRK or RTO 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
Intertek Group	9.19%	23.46%	9.49%
Rentokil Initial	7.25%	9.50%	4.11%

Does the media favor ITRK or RTO?

In the previous week, Intertek Group had 1 more articles in the media than Rentokil Initial. MarketBeat recorded 3 mentions for Intertek Group and 2 mentions for Rentokil Initial. 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 news media.

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

Which has more volatility & risk, ITRK or RTO?

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

Do analysts rate ITRK or RTO?

Intertek Group presently has a consensus target price of GBX 5,300, indicating a potential upside of 7.09%. Rentokil Initial has a consensus target price of GBX 397.25, indicating a potential downside of 3.09%. Given Intertek Group's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Intertek Group is more favorable than Rentokil Initial.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Intertek Group	0 Sell rating(s)	3 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.40
Rentokil Initial	1 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.33

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

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

Is ITRK or RTO a better dividend stock?

Intertek Group pays an annual dividend of GBX 1.57 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.0%. Rentokil Initial pays an annual dividend of GBX 0.12 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.0%. Intertek Group pays out 70.0% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. 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 is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Summary

Intertek Group beats Rentokil Initial on 11 of the 17 factors compared between the two stocks.