Rentokil Initial (RTO) Competitors

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) and Rentokil Initial (NYSE:RTO) are both large-cap business services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their profitability, risk, institutional ownership, earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, valuation and media sentiment.

Do analysts recommend WCN or RTO?

Waste Connections presently has a consensus target price of $213.00, indicating a potential upside of 23.71%. Given Waste Connections' stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts clearly believe Waste Connections is more favorable than Rentokil Initial.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Waste Connections	0 Sell rating(s)	4 Hold rating(s)	11 Buy rating(s)	5 Strong Buy rating(s)	3.05
Rentokil Initial	1 Sell rating(s)	0 Hold rating(s)	1 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67

Does the media prefer WCN or RTO?

In the previous week, Waste Connections had 14 more articles in the media than Rentokil Initial. MarketBeat recorded 15 mentions for Waste Connections and 1 mentions for Rentokil Initial. Rentokil Initial's average media sentiment score of 1.79 beat Waste Connections' score of 0.71 indicating that Rentokil Initial is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Waste Connections	8 Very Positive mention(s)	1 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	1 Negative mention(s)	2 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Rentokil Initial	1 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Very Positive

Which has more risk and volatility, WCN or RTO?

Waste Connections has a beta of 0.61, suggesting that its share price is 39% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Rentokil Initial has a beta of 0.94, suggesting that its share price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Is WCN or RTO more profitable?

Waste Connections has a net margin of 6.97% compared to Rentokil Initial's net margin of 0.00%. Waste Connections' return on equity of 15.72% beat Rentokil Initial's return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Waste Connections	6.97%	15.72%	6.32%
Rentokil Initial	N/A	N/A	N/A

Do insiders & institutionals believe in WCN or RTO?

86.1% of Waste Connections shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 9.9% of Rentokil Initial shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Waste Connections shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Is WCN or RTO a better dividend stock?

Waste Connections pays an annual dividend of $1.26 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.7%. Rentokil Initial pays an annual dividend of $0.33 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Waste Connections pays out 50.8% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Rentokil Initial pays out 21.9% 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. Waste Connections has increased its dividend for 8 consecutive years. Rentokil Initial is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and lower payout ratio.

Which has higher earnings and valuation, WCN or RTO?

Waste Connections has higher revenue and earnings than Rentokil Initial. Rentokil Initial is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Waste Connections, 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
Waste Connections	$8.92B	4.95	$617.57M	$2.48	69.42
Rentokil Initial	$6.95B	1.75	$392.32M	$1.51	15.93

Summary

Waste Connections beats Rentokil Initial on 16 of the 20 factors compared between the two stocks.