Critical Analysis: BrightView (NYSE:BV) versus Rollins (NYSE:ROL)

Rollins (NYSE:ROL) and BrightView (NYSE:BV) are both industrials companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, risk, earnings and analyst recommendations.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Rollins	13.55%	38.81%	17.24%
BrightView	0.74%	5.03%	1.87%

Earnings & Valuation

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

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Rollins	$3.76 billion	4.28	$526.71 million	$1.10	30.40
BrightView	$2.67 billion	0.37	$56.00 million	($0.25)	-42.25

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

Insider & Institutional Ownership

51.8% of Rollins shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 92.4% of BrightView shares are held by institutional investors. 5.8% of Rollins shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 2.8% of BrightView shares are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Rollins and BrightView, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Rollins	2	12	4	1	2.21
BrightView	2	3	3	1	2.33

Rollins currently has a consensus target price of $44.00, suggesting a potential upside of 31.58%. BrightView has a consensus target price of $13.93, suggesting a potential upside of 31.92%. Given BrightView’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe BrightView is more favorable than Rollins.

Risk and Volatility

Rollins has a beta of 0.73, suggesting that its share price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, BrightView has a beta of 1.2, suggesting that its share price is 20% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Rollins beats BrightView on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Rollins

Rollins, Inc., through its subsidiaries, provides pest and wildlife control services to residential and commercial customers in the United States and internationally. The company offers pest control services to residential properties protecting from common pests, including rodents, insects, and wildlife. It also provides workplace pest control solutions for customers across various end markets, such as healthcare, foodservice, and logistics. In addition, the company offers termite protection services and ancillary services. It serves clients directly, as well as through franchisee operations. The company was formerly known as Rollins Broadcasting, Inc and changed its name to Rollins, Inc. in 1965. Rollins, Inc. was founded in 1901 and is headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia.

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.