Serco Group (SRP) Competitors

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

Do analysts prefer RTO or SRP?

Rentokil Initial currently has a consensus price target of GBX 435, suggesting a potential upside of 19.96%. Serco Group has a consensus price target of GBX 252.67, suggesting a potential upside of 10.47%. Given Rentokil Initial's stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Rentokil Initial is more favorable than Serco Group.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Rentokil Initial	0 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	2 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.00
Serco Group	0 Sell rating(s)	2 Hold rating(s)	3 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.60

Which has preferable earnings and valuation, RTO or SRP?

Rentokil Initial has higher revenue and earnings than Serco Group. Serco 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	£5.38B	1.69	£389.49M	£15.59	23.26
Serco Group	£4.54B	0.51	£130.15M	£12.84	17.81

Does the media prefer RTO or SRP?

In the previous week, Serco Group had 3 more articles in the media than Rentokil Initial. MarketBeat recorded 4 mentions for Serco Group and 1 mentions for Rentokil Initial. Serco Group's average media sentiment score of 0.54 beat Rentokil Initial's score of 0.00 indicating that Serco 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)	0 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Neutral
Serco Group	2 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is RTO or SRP more profitable?

Rentokil Initial has a net margin of 7.25% compared to Serco Group's net margin of 2.87%. Serco Group's return on equity of 13.70% beat Rentokil Initial's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Rentokil Initial	7.25%	9.50%	4.11%
Serco Group	2.87%	13.70%	4.45%

Which has more risk and volatility, RTO or SRP?

Rentokil Initial has a beta of 0.55, meaning that its share price is 45% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Serco Group has a beta of 0.38, meaning that its share price is 62% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do institutionals and insiders believe in RTO or SRP?

99.0% of Rentokil Initial shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 74.7% of Serco Group shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Rentokil Initial shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 1.7% of Serco Group shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Is RTO or SRP a better dividend stock?

Rentokil Initial pays an annual dividend of GBX 9 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.5%. Serco Group pays an annual dividend of GBX 4 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.7%. Rentokil Initial pays out 57.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Serco Group pays out 31.2% 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

Rentokil Initial beats Serco Group on 11 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.