Verisk Analytics (VRSK) Competitors

Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) and Verisk Analytics (NASDAQ:VRSK) are both large-cap business services companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, media sentiment, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, valuation and profitability.

Which has higher earnings & valuation, CTAS or VRSK?

Cintas has higher revenue and earnings than Verisk Analytics. Verisk Analytics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Cintas, 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
Cintas	$10.34B	7.42	$1.81B	$4.41	43.27
Verisk Analytics	$2.88B	11.39	$958.20M	$6.49	36.20

Which has more volatility and risk, CTAS or VRSK?

Cintas has a beta of 1.01, meaning that its share price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Verisk Analytics has a beta of 0.85, meaning that its share price is 15% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Do analysts rate CTAS or VRSK?

Cintas currently has a consensus price target of $222.09, indicating a potential upside of 16.38%. Verisk Analytics has a consensus price target of $299.33, indicating a potential upside of 27.41%. Given Verisk Analytics' higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Verisk Analytics is more favorable than Cintas.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Cintas	2 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.46
Verisk Analytics	3 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	5 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.27

Does the media prefer CTAS or VRSK?

In the previous week, Cintas had 4 more articles in the media than Verisk Analytics. MarketBeat recorded 26 mentions for Cintas and 22 mentions for Verisk Analytics. Cintas' average media sentiment score of 1.25 beat Verisk Analytics' score of 1.15 indicating that Cintas is being referred to more favorably in the media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Cintas	17 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	4 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Verisk Analytics	15 Very Positive mention(s)	2 Positive mention(s)	3 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Is CTAS or VRSK a better dividend stock?

Cintas pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Verisk Analytics pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Cintas pays out 40.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Verisk Analytics pays out 27.7% 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. Cintas has increased its dividend for 42 consecutive years and Verisk Analytics has increased its dividend for 6 consecutive years. Cintas is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Do institutionals & insiders believe in CTAS or VRSK?

63.5% of Cintas shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 90.0% of Verisk Analytics shares are held by institutional investors. 14.9% of Cintas shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.5% of Verisk Analytics shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Is CTAS or VRSK more profitable?

Verisk Analytics has a net margin of 30.67% compared to Cintas' net margin of 17.54%. Verisk Analytics' return on equity of 460.89% beat Cintas' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Cintas	17.54%	40.41%	19.17%
Verisk Analytics	30.67%	460.89%	20.80%

Summary

Cintas beats Verisk Analytics on 11 of the 19 factors compared between the two stocks.