Reviewing Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor (NYSE:ZWS) & Sims Metal Management (OTCMKTS:SMSMY)

Sims Metal Management (OTCMKTS:SMSMY) and Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor (NYSE:ZWS) are both mid-cap business services companies, but which is the better investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, profitability, valuation, institutional ownership, earnings and dividends.

Dividends

Sims Metal Management pays an annual dividend of $0.13 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.3%. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor pays an annual dividend of $0.44 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor pays out 39.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor has raised its dividend for 3 consecutive years.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent ratings for Sims Metal Management and Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Sims Metal Management	1	0	0	0	1.00
Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor	0	3	3	1	2.71

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor has a consensus price target of $42.83, indicating a potential downside of 6.95%. Given Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor is more favorable than Sims Metal Management.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Sims Metal Management	N/A	N/A	N/A
Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor	11.59%	16.26%	9.66%

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Sims Metal Management and Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Sims Metal Management	$4.85 billion	0.41	-$12.30 million	N/A	N/A
Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor	$1.66 billion	4.64	$160.20 million	$1.12	41.10

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor has lower revenue, but higher earnings than Sims Metal Management.

Risk & Volatility

Sims Metal Management has a beta of 1.32, meaning that its stock price is 32% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor has a beta of 1.12, meaning that its stock price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

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

Summary

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor beats Sims Metal Management on 12 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Sims Metal Management

Sims Limited engages in buying, processing, and selling ferrous and non-ferrous recycled metals in Australia, Bangladesh, China, Turkey, the United States, and internationally. The company operates through six segments: North America Metals, Investment in SA Recycling, Australia/New Zealand Metals, UK Metals, Global Trading, and Sims Lifecycle Services. It is involved in the collection, processing, and trading of iron and steel secondary raw materials; and other metal alloys and residues, principally aluminum, lead, copper, zinc, and nickel bearing materials. The company also engages in the provision of environmentally responsible solutions for the disposal of post-consumer electronic products, such as information technology assets recycled for commercial customers; and environmentally responsible recycling of negative value materials, including electronic equipment. In addition, it provides secondary processing and other services comprising recycling of municipal curbside materials, stevedoring, and other sources of service. The company was founded in 1917 and is headquartered in Mascot, Australia.

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.