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HCCI vs. CWST: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

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Investors interested in Pollution Control stocks are likely familiar with Heritage-Crystal Clean and Casella (CWST - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks is more attractive to value investors? We'll need to take a closer look to find out.

We have found that the best way to discover great value opportunities is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with a great grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The proven Zacks Rank puts an emphasis on earnings estimates and estimate revisions, while our Style Scores work to identify stocks with specific traits.

Right now, both Heritage-Crystal Clean and Casella are sporting a Zacks Rank of # 1 (Strong Buy). The Zacks Rank favors stocks that have recently seen positive revisions to their earnings estimates, so investors should rest assured that both of these companies have improving earnings outlooks. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.

Value investors are also interested in a number of tried-and-true valuation metrics that help show when a company is undervalued at its current share price levels.

Our Value category highlights undervalued companies by looking at a variety of key metrics, including the popular P/E ratio, as well as the P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that have been used by value investors for years.

HCCI currently has a forward P/E ratio of 10.49, while CWST has a forward P/E of 77.97. We also note that HCCI has a PEG ratio of 0.70. This popular metric is similar to the widely-known P/E ratio, with the difference being that the PEG ratio also takes into account the company's expected earnings growth rate. CWST currently has a PEG ratio of 5.50.

Another notable valuation metric for HCCI is its P/B ratio of 2.24. The P/B is a method of comparing a stock's market value to its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, CWST has a P/B of 9.51.

These metrics, and several others, help HCCI earn a Value grade of A, while CWST has been given a Value grade of F.

Both HCCI and CWST are impressive stocks with solid earnings outlooks, but based on these valuation figures, we feel that HCCI is the superior value option right now.


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