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SRCL or WCN: Which Is the Better Value Stock Right Now?
Investors with an interest in Waste Removal Services stocks have likely encountered both Stericycle and Waste Connections (WCN - Free Report) . But which of these two stocks presents investors with the better value opportunity right now? Let's take a closer look.
The best way to find great value stocks is to pair a strong Zacks Rank with an impressive grade in the Value category of our Style Scores system. The proven Zacks Rank emphasizes companies with positive estimate revision trends, and our Style Scores highlight stocks with specific traits.
Stericycle has a Zacks Rank of #2 (Buy), while Waste Connections has a Zacks Rank of #3 (Hold) right now. This means that SRCL's earnings estimate revision activity has been more impressive, so investors should feel comfortable with its improving analyst outlook. But this is just one piece of the puzzle for value investors.
Value investors analyze a variety of traditional, tried-and-true metrics to help find companies that they believe are undervalued at their 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.
SRCL currently has a forward P/E ratio of 21.85, while WCN has a forward P/E of 31.48. We also note that SRCL has a PEG ratio of 2.73. 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. WCN currently has a PEG ratio of 3.04.
Another notable valuation metric for SRCL is its P/B ratio of 1.81. The P/B ratio pits a stock's market value against its book value, which is defined as total assets minus total liabilities. For comparison, WCN has a P/B of 5.05.
Based on these metrics and many more, SRCL holds a Value grade of B, while WCN has a Value grade of C.
SRCL has seen stronger estimate revision activity and sports more attractive valuation metrics than WCN, so it seems like value investors will conclude that SRCL is the superior option right now.