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Waste Management (WM) Stock Moves -0.91%: What You Should Know

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Waste Management (WM - Free Report) closed at $149.40 in the latest trading session, marking a -0.91% move from the prior day. This move was narrower than the S&P 500's daily loss of 1.53%. At the same time, the Dow lost 1.72%, and the tech-heavy Nasdaq lost 3.27%.

Prior to today's trading, shares of the garbage and recycling hauler had lost 0.69% over the past month. This has was narrower than the Business Services sector's loss of 1.63% and the S&P 500's loss of 1.28% in that time.

Investors will be hoping for strength from Waste Management as it approaches its next earnings release. The company is expected to report EPS of $1.29, unchanged from the prior-year quarter. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $4.87 billion, up 4.4% from the year-ago period.

Looking at the full year, our Zacks Consensus Estimates suggest analysts are expecting earnings of $6.09 per share and revenue of $20.63 billion. These totals would mark changes of +8.94% and +4.75%, respectively, from last year.

Any recent changes to analyst estimates for Waste Management should also be noted by investors. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As a result, we can interpret positive estimate revisions as a good sign for the company's business outlook.

Research indicates that these estimate revisions are directly correlated with near-term share price momentum. We developed the Zacks Rank to capitalize on this phenomenon. Our system takes these estimate changes into account and delivers a clear, actionable rating model.

The Zacks Rank system, which ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has an impressive outside-audited track record of outperformance, with #1 stocks generating an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.53% lower. Waste Management currently has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In terms of valuation, Waste Management is currently trading at a Forward P/E ratio of 24.76. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 22.15.

Also, we should mention that WM has a PEG ratio of 2.28. 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. The Waste Removal Services industry currently had an average PEG ratio of 2.74 as of yesterday's close.

The Waste Removal Services industry is part of the Business Services sector. This industry currently has a Zacks Industry Rank of 105, which puts it in the top 42% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank gauges the strength of our individual 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.

To follow WM in the coming trading sessions, be sure to utilize Zacks.com.


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