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Waste Management (WM) Rises But Trails Market: What Investors Should Know

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The most recent trading session ended with Waste Management (WM - Free Report) standing at $207.52, reflecting a +0.2% shift from the previouse trading day's closing. The stock's performance was behind the S&P 500's daily gain of 0.25%. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.2%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw an increase of 0.56%.

Shares of the garbage and recycling hauler have depreciated by 0.82% over the course of the past month, underperforming the Business Services sector's gain of 3.75% and the S&P 500's gain of 1.65%.

Analysts and investors alike will be keeping a close eye on the performance of Waste Management in its upcoming earnings disclosure. The company's earnings per share (EPS) are projected to be $1.86, reflecting a 14.11% increase from the same quarter last year. Meanwhile, the Zacks Consensus Estimate for revenue is projecting net sales of $5.5 billion, up 5.82% from the year-ago period.

For the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates are projecting earnings of $7.24 per share and a revenue of $21.54 billion, representing changes of +16.96% and +5.46%, respectively, from the prior year.

It is also important to note the recent changes to analyst estimates for Waste Management. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. As a result, upbeat changes in estimates indicate analysts' favorable outlook on the company's business health and profitability.

Our research reveals that these estimate alterations are directly linked with the stock price performance in the near future. Investors can capitalize on this by using the Zacks Rank. This model considers these estimate changes and provides a simple, actionable rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, stretching from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), has a noteworthy track record of outperforming, validated by third-party audits, with stocks rated #1 producing an average annual return of +25% since the year 1988. Over the past month, the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate has remained steady. Waste Management presently features a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

Digging into valuation, Waste Management currently has a Forward P/E ratio of 28.61. This denotes no noticeable deviation relative to the industry's average Forward P/E of 28.61.

It is also worth noting that WM currently has a PEG ratio of 2.32. 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. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Waste Removal Services industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.88.

The Waste Removal Services industry is part of the Business Services sector. This industry, currently bearing a Zacks Industry Rank of 185, finds itself in the bottom 27% echelons of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank evaluates the power of our distinct industry groups by determining the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks forming 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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