The most recent trading session ended with Waste Management (WM) standing at $228.19, reflecting a +1.48% shift from the previouse trading day's closing. This change outpaced the S&P 500's 0.64% gain on the day. Meanwhile, the Dow experienced a rise of 0.85%, and the technology-dominated Nasdaq saw an increase of 0.31%.

Shares of the garbage and recycling hauler witnessed a loss of 1.26% over the previous month, beating the performance of the Business Services sector with its loss of 10.4% and the S&P 500's loss of 7.69%.

Investors will be eagerly watching for the performance of Waste Management in its upcoming earnings disclosure. On that day, Waste Management is projected to report earnings of $1.69 per share, which would represent a year-over-year decline of 3.43%. Our most recent consensus estimate is calling for quarterly revenue of $6.14 billion, up 19.03% from the year-ago period.

In terms of the entire fiscal year, the Zacks Consensus Estimates predict earnings of $7.68 per share and a revenue of $25.63 billion, indicating changes of +6.22% and +16.16%, respectively, from the former year.

Investors should also note any recent changes to analyst estimates for Waste Management. These revisions help to show the ever-changing nature of near-term business trends. Hence, positive alterations in estimates signify analyst optimism regarding the company's business and profitability.

Based on our research, we believe these estimate revisions are directly related to near-team stock moves. To capitalize on this, we've crafted the Zacks Rank, a unique model that incorporates these estimate changes and offers a practical rating system.

The Zacks Rank system, running from #1 (Strong Buy) to #5 (Strong Sell), holds an admirable track record of superior performance, independently audited, with #1 stocks contributing an average annual return of +25% since 1988. Within the past 30 days, our consensus EPS projection has moved 0.35% lower. Currently, Waste Management is carrying a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold).

From a valuation perspective, Waste Management is currently exchanging hands at a Forward P/E ratio of 29.29. This valuation marks a premium compared to its industry's average Forward P/E of 26.06.

One should further note that WM currently holds a PEG ratio of 2.67. The PEG ratio is akin to the commonly utilized P/E ratio, but this measure also incorporates the company's anticipated earnings growth rate. By the end of yesterday's trading, the Waste Removal Services industry had an average PEG ratio of 2.44.

The Waste Removal Services industry is part of the Business Services sector. This group has a Zacks Industry Rank of 176, putting it in the bottom 30% of all 250+ industries.

The Zacks Industry Rank assesses the vigor of our specific industry groups by computing the average Zacks Rank of the individual stocks incorporated in the groups. Our research shows that the top 50% rated industries outperform the bottom half by a factor of 2 to 1.

You can find more information on all of these metrics, and much more, on Zacks.com.

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Waste Management, Inc. (WM) : Free Stock Analysis Report

This article originally published on Zacks Investment Research (zacks.com).

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