Comparing Rentokil Initial (NYSE:RTO) and Atlantic International (NASDAQ:ATLN)

Atlantic International (NASDAQ:ATLN) and Rentokil Initial (NYSE:RTO) are both business services companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, risk, profitability, dividends, valuation and earnings.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

9.9% of Rentokil Initial shares are held by institutional investors. 13.6% of Atlantic International shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings for Atlantic International and Rentokil Initial, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Atlantic International	0	0	0	0	0.00
Rentokil Initial	1	1	1	2	2.80

Volatility and Risk

Atlantic International has a beta of 1.07, meaning that its share price is 7% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Rentokil Initial has a beta of 0.94, meaning that its share price is 6% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Profitability

This table compares Atlantic International and Rentokil Initial’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Atlantic International	-31.78%	-3,234.95%	-85.31%
Rentokil Initial	N/A	N/A	N/A

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Atlantic International and Rentokil Initial”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Atlantic International	$442.61 million	0.24	-$135.48 million	($3.96)	-0.44
Rentokil Initial	$6.95 billion	1.73	$392.32 million	$1.51	15.73

Rentokil Initial has higher revenue and earnings than Atlantic International. Atlantic International is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Rentokil Initial, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Summary

Rentokil Initial beats Atlantic International on 12 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Atlantic International

Atlantic International Corp. engages in the design, development, and manufacture of genetic analysis technologies. Its services include RNA sequencing and DNA sequencing. The company was founded by William C. St. Laurent and Daniel R. Jones in 2013 and is headquartered in Billercia, MA.

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.