Verisk Analytics (VRSK) Competitors

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

Do analysts rate VRSK or CTAS?

Verisk Analytics currently has a consensus price target of $305.60, indicating a potential upside of 15.33%. Cintas has a consensus price target of $224.54, indicating a potential upside of 0.12%. Given Verisk Analytics' higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe Verisk Analytics is more favorable than Cintas.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Verisk Analytics	1 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	4 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.30
Cintas	2 Sell rating(s)	5 Hold rating(s)	6 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.43

Which has higher earnings & valuation, VRSK or CTAS?

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
Verisk Analytics	$2.88B	12.85	$958.20M	$6.49	40.83
Cintas	$10.34B	8.74	$1.81B	$4.41	50.86

Which has more volatility & risk, VRSK or CTAS?

Verisk Analytics has a beta of 0.83, meaning that its share price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cintas has a beta of 1.03, meaning that its share price is 3% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Does the media favor VRSK or CTAS?

In the previous week, Verisk Analytics had 4 more articles in the media than Cintas. MarketBeat recorded 40 mentions for Verisk Analytics and 36 mentions for Cintas. Cintas' average media sentiment score of 1.44 beat Verisk Analytics' score of 0.78 indicating that Cintas is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Verisk Analytics	18 Very Positive mention(s)	6 Positive mention(s)	8 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Cintas	33 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	1 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Do institutionals and insiders believe in VRSK or CTAS?

90.0% of Verisk Analytics shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 63.5% of Cintas shares are held by institutional investors. 0.5% of Verisk Analytics shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 15.0% of Cintas shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Is VRSK or CTAS more profitable?

Verisk Analytics has a net margin of 30.67% compared to Cintas' net margin of 17.53%. Verisk Analytics' return on equity of 460.89% beat Cintas' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Verisk Analytics	30.67%	460.89%	20.80%
Cintas	17.53%	41.21%	19.14%

Is VRSK or CTAS a better dividend stock?

Verisk Analytics pays an annual dividend of $1.80 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Cintas pays an annual dividend of $1.56 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Verisk Analytics pays out 27.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Cintas pays out 35.4% 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. Verisk Analytics has increased its dividend for 6 consecutive years and Cintas has increased its dividend for 42 consecutive years. Cintas is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Cintas beats Verisk Analytics on 11 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.