Crawford & Company (NYSE:CRD.A) & Rentokil Initial (NYSE:RTO) Head to Head Review

Crawford & Company (NYSE:CRD.A) and Rentokil Initial (NYSE:RTO) are both business services companies, but which is the superior business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, dividends, analyst recommendations, profitability, risk, institutional ownership and valuation.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

22.6% of Crawford & Company shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 9.9% of Rentokil Initial shares are owned by institutional investors. 54.3% of Crawford & Company shares are owned 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.

Dividends

Crawford & Company pays an annual dividend of $0.30 per share and has a dividend yield of 3.1%. Rentokil Initial pays an annual dividend of $0.72 per share and has a dividend yield of 2.1%. Crawford & Company pays out 76.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend, suggesting it may not have sufficient earnings to cover its dividend payment in the future.

Risk and Volatility

Crawford & Company has a beta of 0.83, meaning that its stock price is 17% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Rentokil Initial has a beta of 1.01, meaning that its stock price is 1% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Crawford & Company and Rentokil Initial”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Crawford & Company	$1.31 billion	0.36	$19.63 million	$0.39	24.86
Rentokil Initial	$6.91 billion	2.47	$470.00 million	N/A	N/A

Rentokil Initial has higher revenue and earnings than Crawford & Company.

Profitability

This table compares Crawford & Company and Rentokil Initial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Crawford & Company	1.37%	24.11%	5.43%
Rentokil Initial	N/A	N/A	N/A

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and recommmendations for Crawford & Company and Rentokil Initial, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Crawford & Company	0	0	1	0	3.00
Rentokil Initial	1	4	6	1	2.58

Crawford & Company currently has a consensus target price of $14.00, indicating a potential upside of 44.37%. Rentokil Initial has a consensus target price of $34.50, indicating a potential upside of 2.02%. Given Crawford & Company’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Crawford & Company is more favorable than Rentokil Initial.

Summary

Crawford & Company beats Rentokil Initial on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Crawford & Company

Crawford & Company provides claims management and outsourcing solutions to the risk management and insurance industry, and self-insured entities. The company's Crawford Claims Solutions segment offers claims management services related to property, casualty, and catastrophe losses caused by physical damage to commercial and residential real properties, and personal properties, as well as marine losses. It also offers services in the areas of field investigation, catastrophe, evaluation, and resolution of property and casualty insurance claims; and various on-demand inspection, verification, and other task specific field services for businesses and consumers through a mobile platform. Its Crawford TPA Solutions segment provides claims and risk management services; desktop claim adjusting and claims evaluation services; initial loss reporting services for claimants; loss mitigation services, such as medical bill review and case management, and vocational rehabilitation services; and risk management information services, as well as administers trust funds established to pay claims. It offers services for workers' compensation, auto and liability, disability absence and medical management, and accident and health markets. The company's Crawford Specialty Solutions segment offers claims management services related to large and complex losses in various industries, such as commercial property, aviation, forensic accounting, marine and transportation, retail, building and construction, cyber, and energy. It also provides a customer-centric solution for various loss types comprising high-frequency and low-complexity claims, and large complex repairs; and outsourced contractor management services to personal and commercial insurance carriers, and consumer markets. The company operates in the United States, the United Kingdom and the rest of Europe, Canada, Australia, and internationally. Crawford & Company was founded in 1941 and is based in Peachtree Corners, Georgia.

About Rentokil Initial

Rentokil Initial plc, together with its subsidiaries, provides route-based services in North America, the United Kingdom, rest of Europe, Asia, the Pacific, and internationally. It offers a range of pest control services for rodents, and flying and crawling insects, as well as other forms of wildlife management for commercial customers. The company provides hygiene services, including the provision and maintenance of products, such as soap and hand sanitizer dispensers, hand dryers, air care and purification, cubicle and surface sanitizers, feminine hygiene units, toilet paper dispensers, and floor protection mats. In addition, it engages in the supply and maintenance of workwear and protective equipment. Further, the company offers property care services; and provides a range of specialist cleaning services, such as graffiti removal deep cleaning of kitchens and washrooms, trauma cleaning, and flood or fire damage cleaning, as well as specialist medical and hygiene services. Rentokil Initial plc was founded in 1903 and is headquartered in Crawley, the United Kingdom.