Head to Head Analysis: Waste Management (NYSE:WM) & Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor (NYSE:ZWS)

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor (NYSE:ZWS) and Waste Management (NYSE:WM) are both business services companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, institutional ownership, risk, dividends, valuation, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor and Waste Management”s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor	$1.70 billion	4.38	$198.00 million	$1.15	38.57
Waste Management	$25.20 billion	3.74	$2.71 billion	$6.70	34.91

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

Volatility & Risk

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor has a beta of 1.04, meaning that its stock price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Waste Management has a beta of 0.57, meaning that its stock price is 43% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Dividends

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor pays an annual dividend of $0.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Waste Management pays an annual dividend of $3.78 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.6%. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor pays out 38.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Waste Management pays out 56.4% 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. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years and Waste Management has raised its dividend for 22 consecutive years. Waste Management is clearly the better dividend stock, given its higher yield and longer track record of dividend growth.

Profitability

This table compares Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor and Waste Management’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor	11.68%	16.54%	9.82%
Waste Management	10.74%	32.45%	6.67%

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent ratings and target prices for Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor and Waste Management, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor	0	5	4	0	2.44
Waste Management	0	8	16	1	2.72

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor presently has a consensus target price of $51.63, indicating a potential upside of 16.38%. Waste Management has a consensus target price of $254.59, indicating a potential upside of 8.84%. Given Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor’s higher probable upside, equities analysts plainly believe Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor is more favorable than Waste Management.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

83.3% of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 80.4% of Waste Management shares are held by institutional investors. 2.6% of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 0.2% of Waste Management shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, large money managers and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

About Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation engages in design, procurement, manufacture, and marketing of water management solutions in the United States, Canada, and internationally. It offers water safety and control products, such as backflow preventers, fire system valves, pressure reducing valves, thermostatic mixing valves, PEX pipings, fittings, and installation tools under the Zurn and Wilkins brand names. The company also provides flow systems products comprising point drains, hydrants, fixture carrier systems, chemical drainage systems; and interceptors and separators, acid neutralization systems, and remote monitoring systems under the Zurn and Green Turtle brands. In addition, it develops, manufactures, and markets remote tank monitoring devices, alarms, software, and services. Further, the company offers sensor-operated flush valves under the AquaSense, Aquaflush, and AquaVantage brands; heavy-duty commercial faucets under the AquaSpec brand; water conserving fixtures under the EcoVantage and Zurn One brands; stainless steel products under the Just Manufacturing brand name, which include stainless steel sinks and plumbing fixtures, and various types of sinks, as well as drinking water dispensing and filtration products under the Elkay and Halsey Taylor brands. It distributes to institutional, commercial, waterworks, and residential end markets through independent sales representatives, plumbing wholesalers, and industry-specific distributors in the waterworks, foodservice, industrial, janitorial, sanitation, and sitework industries. The company was formerly known as Zurn Water Solutions Corporation and changed its name to Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation in July 2022. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Corporation was incorporated in 1892 and is headquartered in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

About Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc., through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of environmental solutions to residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services, including picking up and transporting waste and recyclable materials from where it was generated to a transfer station, material recovery facility (MRF), or disposal site; and owns and operates transfer stations, as well as owns, develops, and operates landfill facilities that produce landfill gas used as renewable natural gas for generating electricity. As of December 31, 2022, the company owned or operated 254 solid waste landfills, five secure hazardous waste landfills, 97 MRFs, and 337 transfer stations. It also provides materials processing and commodities recycling services at its MRFs, where cardboard, paper, glass, metals, plastics, construction and demolition materials, and other recycling commodities are recovered for resale or redirected for other purposes; recycling brokerage services, such as managing the marketing of recyclable materials for third parties; and other strategic business solutions. In addition, the company offers construction and remediation services; services related with the disposal of fly ash, and residue generated from the combustion of coal and other fuel stocks; in-plant services comprising full-service waste management solutions and consulting services; and specialized disposal services for oil and gas exploration and production operations. The company was formerly known as USA Waste Services, Inc. and changed its name to Waste Management, Inc. in 1998. Waste Management, Inc. was incorporated in 1987 and is headquartered in Houston, Texas.