Head-To-Head Survey: Knightscope (NASDAQ:KSCP) & Rollins (NYSE:ROL)

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

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Knightscope	-217.29%	-152.20%	-90.99%
Rollins	13.55%	38.81%	17.24%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and target prices for Knightscope and Rollins, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Knightscope	1	0	3	0	2.50
Rollins	3	11	4	1	2.16

Knightscope currently has a consensus price target of $12.67, indicating a potential upside of 1,533.99%. Rollins has a consensus price target of $45.94, indicating a potential upside of 52.32%. Given Knightscope’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts clearly believe Knightscope is more favorable than Rollins.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

14.6% of Knightscope shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 51.8% of Rollins shares are owned by institutional investors. 1.8% of Knightscope shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 5.8% of Rollins shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, large money managers and hedge funds believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Knightscope and Rollins”s top-line revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Knightscope	$20.71 million	0.87	-$33.81 million	($3.43)	-0.23
Rollins	$3.92 billion	3.70	$526.71 million	$1.10	27.42

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

Volatility & Risk

Knightscope has a beta of 1.28, meaning that its stock price is 28% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Rollins has a beta of 0.74, meaning that its stock price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Rollins beats Knightscope on 12 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Knightscope

Knightscope, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, markets, deploys, and supports autonomous security robots (ASR) in the United States. Its products include K3 and K5 ASRs designed to roam a geo-fenced area autonomously by utilizing numerous sensors and lasers, either on a random basis or based on a particular patrolling algorithm to navigate around people, vehicles, and objects in dynamic indoor or outdoor environments; K1, an ASR for used in indoors or outdoors and at ingress/egress points for both people and vehicles; and K7, a multi-terrain ASR. The company also develops and operates the Knightscope security operations center (KSOC), a browser-based interface, which allows real-time data access service to its clients for alert of an abnormal event; and Knightscope network operations center (KNOC), a custom set of tools that enables it to manage and monitor the network of ASRs with alerts related to critical indicators and statistics, including charging, software, navigation, and temperatures, as well as to execute over-the-air software upgrades, patches, and other related items. In addition, it offers Knightscope+, a virtual monitoring and response solution that provides an alternative for client sites. The company serves airports, commercial real estate, corporate campus, homeowner associations, hotels, universities, municipalities, rail, healthcare, public parks, schools, casinos, corporations, logistics, manufacturing, law enforcement, Parking areas, municipalities, universities, and property management companies, as well as the U.S. federal government. Knightscope, Inc. was incorporated in 2013 and is headquartered in Mountain View, California.

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.