Waste Management (WM) Competitors

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) and Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) are both large-cap business services companies, but which is the better business? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, institutional ownership, analyst recommendations, valuation, profitability, community ranking, risk and media sentiment.

Do insiders & institutionals have more ownership in WM or RSG?

80.4% of Waste Management shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 57.7% of Republic Services shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of Waste Management shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 0.1% of Republic Services shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Does the media prefer WM or RSG?

In the previous week, Waste Management had 14 more articles in the media than Republic Services. MarketBeat recorded 27 mentions for Waste Management and 13 mentions for Republic Services. Republic Services' average media sentiment score of 1.40 beat Waste Management's score of 0.91 indicating that Republic Services is being referred to more favorably in the news media.

Company	Very Positive	Positive	Neutral	Negative	Very Negative	Overall Sentiment
Waste Management	20 Very Positive mention(s)	3 Positive mention(s)	0 Neutral mention(s)	2 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive
Republic Services	11 Very Positive mention(s)	0 Positive mention(s)	2 Neutral mention(s)	0 Negative mention(s)	0 Very Negative mention(s)	Positive

Does the MarketBeat Community favor WM or RSG?

Waste Management received 103 more outperform votes than Republic Services when rated by MarketBeat users. Likewise, 66.70% of users gave Waste Management an outperform vote while only 64.66% of users gave Republic Services an outperform vote.

Company	Underperform	Outperform
Waste Management	Outperform Votes 597 66.70%	Underperform Votes 298 33.30%
Republic Services	Outperform Votes 494 64.66%	Underperform Votes 270 35.34%

Is WM or RSG more profitable?

Republic Services has a net margin of 12.46% compared to Waste Management's net margin of 12.35%. Waste Management's return on equity of 39.88% beat Republic Services' return on equity.

Company	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Waste Management	12.35%	39.88%	8.73%
Republic Services	12.46%	18.18%	6.26%

Which has more volatility and risk, WM or RSG?

Waste Management has a beta of 0.77, indicating that its share price is 23% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Republic Services has a beta of 0.73, indicating that its share price is 27% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Which has better valuation and earnings, WM or RSG?

Waste Management has higher revenue and earnings than Republic Services. Waste Management is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Republic Services, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Company	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Waste Management	$20.43B	4.16	$2.30B	$6.54	32.38
Republic Services	$14.96B	4.48	$1.73B	$6.25	34.22

Do analysts prefer WM or RSG?

Waste Management currently has a consensus price target of $230.72, indicating a potential upside of 8.94%. Republic Services has a consensus price target of $221.12, indicating a potential upside of 3.40%. Given Waste Management's higher probable upside, analysts plainly believe Waste Management is more favorable than Republic Services.

Company	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Waste Management	0 Sell rating(s)	10 Hold rating(s)	10 Buy rating(s)	1 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.57
Republic Services	0 Sell rating(s)	6 Hold rating(s)	12 Buy rating(s)	0 Strong Buy rating(s)	2.67

Is WM or RSG a better dividend stock?

Waste Management pays an annual dividend of $3.00 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.4%. Republic Services pays an annual dividend of $2.32 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.1%. Waste Management pays out 45.9% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Republic Services pays out 37.1% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Waste Management has raised its dividend for 21 consecutive years. Waste Management is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Summary

Waste Management beats Republic Services on 15 of the 22 factors compared between the two stocks.