Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor (NYSE:ZWS) versus Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) Critical Contrast

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor (NYSE:ZWS) and Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) are both mid-cap business services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two businesses based on the strength of their risk, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, valuation, dividends, earnings and profitability.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

83.3% of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.5% of Casella Waste Systems shares are owned by institutional investors. 2.4% of Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 3.8% of Casella Waste Systems shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a stock is poised for long-term growth.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor and Casella Waste Systems”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor	$1.70 billion	4.76	$198.00 million	$1.24	38.99
Casella Waste Systems	$1.84 billion	3.10	$7.87 million	$0.11	812.64

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor has higher earnings, but lower revenue than Casella Waste Systems. Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Casella Waste Systems, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Profitability

This table compares Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor and Casella Waste Systems’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor	12.26%	17.40%	10.35%
Casella Waste Systems	0.38%	5.19%	2.48%

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of recent recommendations for Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor and Casella Waste Systems, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor	0	4	5	0	2.56
Casella Waste Systems	1	2	7	1	2.73

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor currently has a consensus price target of $55.00, suggesting a potential upside of 13.76%. Casella Waste Systems has a consensus price target of $110.12, suggesting a potential upside of 23.20%. Given Casella Waste Systems’ stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, analysts clearly believe Casella Waste Systems is more favorable than Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor.

Risk and Volatility

Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor has a beta of 1.04, indicating that its stock price is 4% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Casella Waste Systems has a beta of 0.74, indicating that its stock price is 26% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Casella Waste Systems beats Zurn Elkay Water Solutions Cor on 8 of the 15 factors compared between the two stocks.

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.

About Casella Waste Systems

Casella Waste Systems, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a vertically integrated solid waste services company in the United States. It offers resource management services primarily in the areas of solid waste collection and disposal, transfer, recycling, and organics services to residential, commercial, municipal, institutional, and industrial customers. The company provides non-hazardous solid waste services, including collections, transfer stations, recycling, and disposal operations. In addition, it markets materials, including fibers, corrugated cardboard, newsprint, plastics, glass, ferrous, and aluminum metals. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. was founded in 1975 and is headquartered in Rutland, Vermont.