Back to top

Image: Bigstock

RSG vs. WCN: Which Stock Is the Better Value Option?

Read MoreHide Full Article

Investors looking for stocks in the Waste Removal Services sector might want to consider either Republic Services (RSG - Free Report) or Waste Connections (WCN - 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.

The best way to find great value stocks is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.

Republic Services has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Waste Connections has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that RSG is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. But this is only part of the picture for value investors.

Value investors analyze a variety of traditional, tried-and-true metrics to help find companies that they believe are undervalued at their 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.

RSG currently has a forward P/E ratio of 27.94, while WCN has a forward P/E of 35.94. We also note that RSG has a PEG ratio of 2.46. This metric is used similarly to the famous P/E ratio, but the PEG ratio also takes into account the stock's expected earnings growth rate. WCN currently has a PEG ratio of 2.84.

Another notable valuation metric for RSG is its P/B ratio of 4.57. Investors use the P/B ratio to look at a stock's market value versus its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. By comparison, WCN has a P/B of 5.04.

These are just a few of the metrics contributing to RSG's Value grade of B and WCN's Value grade of C.

RSG has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than WCN, so it seems like value investors will conclude that RSG is the superior option right now.


See More Zacks Research for These Tickers


Normally $25 each - click below to receive one report FREE:


Republic Services, Inc. (RSG) - free report >>

Waste Connections, Inc. (WCN) - free report >>

Published in