Head to Head Review: Vestis (NYSE:VSTS) & Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN)

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) and Vestis (NYSE:VSTS) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their institutional ownership, valuation, risk, earnings, dividends, profitability and analyst recommendations.

Valuation and Earnings

This table compares Waste Connections and Vestis”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Waste Connections	$9.47 billion	4.87	$1.08 billion	$4.47	41.15
Vestis	$2.73 billion	0.71	-$40.22 million	($0.05)	-295.80

Waste Connections has higher revenue and earnings than Vestis. Vestis is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Waste Connections, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

Waste Connections has a beta of 0.43, suggesting that its share price is 57% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Vestis has a beta of 0.82, suggesting that its share price is 18% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Waste Connections and Vestis, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Waste Connections	0	2	16	1	2.95
Vestis	4	3	1	0	1.62

Waste Connections presently has a consensus price target of $203.22, indicating a potential upside of 10.49%. Vestis has a consensus price target of $12.66, indicating a potential downside of 14.40%. Given Waste Connections’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, equities research analysts plainly believe Waste Connections is more favorable than Vestis.

Profitability

This table compares Waste Connections and Vestis’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Waste Connections	11.40%	17.76%	6.69%
Vestis	-0.20%	7.27%	2.20%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

86.1% of Waste Connections shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 97.4% of Vestis shares are owned by institutional investors. 0.3% of Waste Connections shares are owned by insiders. Comparatively, 15.7% of Vestis shares are owned by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company is poised for long-term growth.

Summary

Waste Connections beats Vestis on 12 of the 15 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 Vestis

Vestis Corporation provides uniform rentals and workplace supplies in the United States and Canada. Its products include uniform options, such as shirts, pants, outerwear, gowns, scrubs, high visibility garments, particulate-free garments, and flame-resistant garments, as well as shoes and accessories; and workplace supplies, including managed restroom supply services, first-aid supplies and safety products, floor mats, towels, and linens. The company serves manufacturing, hospitality, retail, food processing, food service, pharmaceuticals, healthcare, automotive, and cleanroom industries. Vestis Corporation was founded in 1936 and is headquartered in Roswell, Georgia.