Reviewing BrightView (NYSE:BV) and Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS)

BrightView (NYSE:BV) and Cintas (NASDAQ:CTAS) are both business services companies, but which is the better stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, risk, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, earnings and profitability.

Analyst Ratings

This is a breakdown of recent ratings for BrightView and Cintas, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
BrightView	3	2	2	2	2.33
Cintas	1	5	7	1	2.57

BrightView currently has a consensus price target of $14.68, suggesting a potential upside of 29.07%. Cintas has a consensus price target of $220.25, suggesting a potential upside of 22.81%. Given BrightView’s higher possible upside, analysts clearly believe BrightView is more favorable than Cintas.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

92.4% of BrightView shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 63.5% of Cintas shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.8% of BrightView shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 14.9% of Cintas shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Profitability

This table compares BrightView and Cintas’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
BrightView	1.90%	7.85%	2.98%
Cintas	17.58%	41.07%	19.27%

Volatility & Risk

BrightView has a beta of 1.25, indicating that its share price is 25% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Cintas has a beta of 0.95, indicating that its share price is 5% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares BrightView and Cintas”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
BrightView	$2.67 billion	0.40	$56.00 million	($0.02)	-568.80
Cintas	$10.34 billion	6.94	$1.81 billion	$3.43	52.29

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

Summary

Cintas beats BrightView on 11 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About BrightView

BrightView Holdings, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides commercial landscaping services in the United States. It operates through two segments, Maintenance Services and Development Services. The Maintenance Services segment delivers a suite of recurring commercial landscaping services, including mowing, gardening, mulching and snow removal, water management, irrigation maintenance, tree care, golf course maintenance, and specialty turf maintenance. Its customers' properties include corporate and commercial properties, homeowners associations, public parks, hotels and resorts, airport authorities, municipalities, hospitals and other healthcare facilities, educational institutions, restaurants and retail, and golf courses. This segment's customer base includes approximately 8,800 office parks and corporate campuses 7,100 residential communities, and 550 educational institutions. The Development Services segment offers landscape architecture and development services for new facilities and redesign projects. Its services include project design and management services, landscape architecture and installation, irrigation installation, tree moving and installation, pool and water features, sports field, and other services. BrightView Holdings, Inc. also operates as official field consultant to various league baseball. The company was founded in 1939 and is headquartered in Blue Bell, Pennsylvania.

About Cintas

Cintas Corporation engages in the provision of corporate identity uniforms and related business services primarily in the United States, Canada, and Latin America. It operates through Uniform Rental and Facility Services, First Aid and Safety Services, and All Other segments. The company rents and services uniforms and other garments, including flame resistant clothing, mats, mops and shop towels, and other ancillary items; and provides restroom cleaning services and supplies, as well as sells uniforms. In addition, the company offers first aid and safety services, and fire protection products and services. It provides its products and services through its distribution network and local delivery routes, or local representatives to small service and manufacturing companies, as well as major corporations. The company was founded in 1968 and is based in Cincinnati, Ohio. Cintas Corporation was formerly a subsidiary of Cintas Corporation.