Waste Management (NYSE:WM – Get Free Report) and PureCycle Technologies (NASDAQ:PCT – Get Free Report) are both business services companies, but which is the better business? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their dividends, earnings, profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership and risk.
Profitability
This table compares Waste Management and PureCycle Technologies’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.
| Net Margins | Return on Equity | Return on Assets | |
| Waste Management | 10.99% | 31.90% | 6.76% |
| PureCycle Technologies | -2,062.36% | -393.01% | -22.56% |
Institutional & Insider Ownership
80.4% of Waste Management shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 63.0% of PureCycle Technologies shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.2% of Waste Management shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 18.8% of PureCycle Technologies shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.
Valuation & Earnings
| Gross Revenue | Price/Sales Ratio | Net Income | Earnings Per Share | Price/Earnings Ratio | |
| Waste Management | $25.20 billion | 3.55 | $2.71 billion | $6.91 | 32.25 |
| PureCycle Technologies | $8.35 million | 171.11 | -$182.57 million | ($1.47) | -5.37 |
Waste Management has higher revenue and earnings than PureCycle Technologies. PureCycle Technologies is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Waste Management, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.
Risk & Volatility
Waste Management has a beta of 0.45, meaning that its stock price is 55% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, PureCycle Technologies has a beta of 2.48, meaning that its stock price is 148% more volatile than the S&P 500.
Analyst Recommendations
This is a summary of recent ratings and recommmendations for Waste Management and PureCycle Technologies, as reported by MarketBeat.
| Sell Ratings | Hold Ratings | Buy Ratings | Strong Buy Ratings | Rating Score | |
| Waste Management | 0 | 8 | 15 | 0 | 2.65 |
| PureCycle Technologies | 1 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2.50 |
Waste Management currently has a consensus target price of $255.30, suggesting a potential upside of 14.57%. PureCycle Technologies has a consensus target price of $12.25, suggesting a potential upside of 55.06%. Given PureCycle Technologies’ higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe PureCycle Technologies is more favorable than Waste Management.
Summary
Waste Management beats PureCycle Technologies on 10 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.
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.
About PureCycle Technologies
PureCycle Technologies, Inc. engages in the production of recycled polypropylene (PP). The company holds a license for restoring waste PP into ultra-pure recycled polypropylene resin that has multiple applications, including packaging and labeling for consumer products, piping, ropes, cabling, and plastic parts for various industries. Its recycling process separates color, odor, and other contaminants from plastic waste feedstock to transform it into virgin-like resin. The company was founded in 2015 and is headquartered in Orlando, Florida.
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