Comparing Sims Metal Management (OTCMKTS:SMSMY) & Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN)

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) and Sims Metal Management (OTCMKTS:SMSMY) are both business services companies, but which is the superior stock? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, profitability, analyst recommendations, dividends, risk, valuation and institutional ownership.

Dividends

Waste Connections pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Sims Metal Management pays an annual dividend of $0.14 per share and has a dividend yield of 1.0%. Waste Connections pays out 58.3% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Waste Connections has raised its dividend for 8 consecutive years.

Earnings and Valuation

This table compares Waste Connections and Sims Metal Management”s gross revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Waste Connections	$8.92 billion	4.88	$617.57 million	$2.40	70.94
Sims Metal Management	$4.85 billion	0.54	-$12.30 million	N/A	N/A

Waste Connections has higher revenue and earnings than Sims Metal Management.

Insider and Institutional Ownership

86.1% of Waste Connections shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Waste Connections 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.

Profitability

This table compares Waste Connections and Sims Metal Management’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Waste Connections	6.65%	16.07%	6.37%
Sims Metal Management	N/A	N/A	N/A

Volatility and Risk

Waste Connections has a beta of 0.63, suggesting that its stock price is 37% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sims Metal Management has a beta of 1.15, suggesting that its stock price is 15% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations for Waste Connections and Sims Metal Management, as provided by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Waste Connections	1	3	15	5	3.00
Sims Metal Management	1	0	0	0	1.00

Waste Connections presently has a consensus price target of $206.68, suggesting a potential upside of 21.40%. Given Waste Connections’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe Waste Connections is more favorable than Sims Metal Management.

Summary

Waste Connections beats Sims Metal Management on 13 of the 16 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Waste Connections

Waste Connections, Inc. provides non-hazardous waste collection, transfer, disposal, and resource recovery services in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services to residential, commercial, municipal, industrial, and exploration and production (E&P) customers; landfill disposal services; and recycling services for various recyclable materials, including compost, cardboard, mixed paper, plastic containers, glass bottles, and ferrous and aluminum metals. The company owns and operates transfer stations that receive compact and/or load waste to be transported to landfills or treatment facilities through truck, rail, or barge; and intermodal services for the rail haul movement of cargo and solid waste containers in the Pacific Northwest through a network of intermodal facilities. In addition, it provides E&P waste treatment, recovery, and disposal services for waste resulting from oil and natural gas exploration and production activity, such as drilling fluids, drill cuttings, completion fluids, and flowback water; production wastes and produced water during a well's operating life; contaminated soils that require treatment during site reclamation; and substances, which require clean-up after a spill, reserve pit clean-up, or pipeline rupture. Further, the company offers leasing services to its customers. Waste Connections, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is based in Woodbridge, Canada.

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.