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Waste Management (WM) Ascends While Market Falls: Some Facts to Note

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Waste Management (WM - Free Report) closed the most recent trading day at $223.26, moving +2.02% from the previous trading session. This move outpaced the S&P 500's daily loss of 0.1%. Meanwhile, the Dow gained 0.35%, and the Nasdaq, a tech-heavy index, lost 0.43%.

Coming into today, shares of the garbage and recycling hauler had gained 1.56% in the past month. In that same time, the Business Services sector lost 2.53%, while the S&P 500 lost 1.34%.

The upcoming earnings release of Waste Management will be of great interest to investors. It is anticipated that the company will report an EPS of $2.01, marking a 4.69% rise compared to the same quarter of the previous year. Meanwhile, our latest consensus estimate is calling for revenue of $6.69 billion, up 4.03% from the prior-year quarter.

For the full year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates project earnings of $8.15 per share and a revenue of $26.5 billion, demonstrating changes of +8.67% and +5.13%, respectively, from the preceding year.

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. Therefore, positive revisions in estimates convey analysts' confidence in the business performance and profit potential.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-term stock moves. 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 ranges from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell). It has a remarkable, outside-audited track record of success, with #1 stocks delivering an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection remained stagnant. Right now, Waste Management possesses a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

In the context of valuation, Waste Management is at present trading with a Forward P/E ratio of 26.84. This denotes no noticeable deviation relative to the industry average Forward P/E of 26.84.

One should further note that WM currently holds a PEG ratio of 2.29. 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 had an average PEG ratio of 2.29 as trading concluded yesterday.

The Waste Removal Services industry is part of the Business Services sector. At present, this industry carries a Zacks Industry Rank of 94, placing it within the top 39% of over 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.

Ensure to harness Zacks.com to stay updated with all these stock-shifting metrics, among others, in the next trading sessions.

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