Waste Management (WM) Exceeds Market Returns: Some Facts to Consider

Waste Management (WM) closed at $221.72 in the latest trading session, marking a +1.22% move from the prior day. The stock outperformed the S&P 500, which registered a daily gain of 1.06%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 1.18%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, added 1.4%.

Shares of the garbage and recycling hauler have depreciated by 2.35% over the course of the past month, underperforming the Business Services sector's gain of 1.35%, and the S&P 500's gain of 2.46%.

Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Waste Management in its upcoming earnings disclosure. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $2.18, marking a 10.1% rise compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $6.79 billion, up 5.34% from the year-ago period.

WM's full-year Zacks Consensus Estimates are calling for earnings of $8.13 per share and revenue of $26.35 billion. These results would represent year-over-year changes of +8.4% and +4.54%, respectively.

Additionally, investors should keep an eye on any recent revisions to analyst forecasts for Waste Management. Such recent modifications usually signify the changing landscape of near-term business trends. Consequently, upward revisions in estimates express analysts' positivity towards the business operations and its ability to generate profits.

Our research shows that these estimate changes are directly correlated with near-term stock prices. To take advantage of this, we've established the Zacks Rank, an exclusive model that considers these estimated changes and delivers an operational rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has moved 0.06% lower. At present, Waste Management boasts a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In the context of valuation, Waste Management is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 26.95. This signifies a premium in comparison to the average Forward P/E of 26.39 for its industry.

We can also see that WM currently has a PEG ratio of 2.76. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. As the market closed yesterday, the Waste Removal Services industry was having an average PEG ratio of 2.76.

The Waste Removal Services industry is part of the Business Services sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 174, which puts it in the bottom 30% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our industry groups by measuring the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks within the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

Keep in mind to rely on Zacks.com to watch all these stock-impacting metrics, and more, in the succeeding trading sessions.

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This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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