Investors looking for stocks in the Waste Removal Services sector might want to consider either Veolia Environnement SA (VEOEY) or Waste Management (WM). But which of these two companies is the best option for those looking for undervalued stocks? Let's take a closer look.
Everyone has their own methods for finding great value opportunities, but our model includes pairing an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system with a strong Zacks Rank. The Zacks Rank favors stocks with strong earnings estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight companies with specific traits.
Veolia Environnement SA and Waste Management are sporting Zacks Ranks of #2 (Buy) and #3 (Hold), respectively, right now. This system places an emphasis on companies that have seen positive earnings estimate revisions, so investors should feel comfortable knowing that VEOEY is likely seeing its earnings outlook improve to a greater extent. However, value investors will care about much more than just this.
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.
The Value category of the Style Scores system identifies undervalued companies by looking at a number of key metrics. These include the long-favored P/E ratio, P/S ratio, earnings yield, cash flow per share, and a variety of other fundamentals that help us determine a company's fair value.
VEOEY currently has a forward P/E ratio of 15.04, while WM has a forward P/E of 27.36. We also note that VEOEY has a PEG ratio of 1.49. 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. WM currently has a PEG ratio of 2.33.
Another notable valuation metric for VEOEY is its P/B ratio of 2.07. 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, WM has a P/B of 8.94.
These are just a few of the metrics contributing to VEOEY's Value grade of A and WM's Value grade of C.
VEOEY stands above WM thanks to its solid earnings outlook, and based on these valuation figures, we also feel that VEOEY is the superior value option right now.
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Veolia Environnement SA (VEOEY): Free Stock Analysis Report
Waste Management, Inc. (WM): Free Stock Analysis Report
This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).