Critical Analysis: Waste Management (NYSE:WM) vs. Befesa (OTC:BFSAF)

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) and Befesa (OTC:BFSAF) are both business services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will compare the two businesses based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, dividends, institutional ownership, valuation, risk and profitability.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent recommendations and price targets for Waste Management and Befesa, as provided by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Waste Management	0	5	8	0	2.62
Befesa	0	2	1	0	2.33

Waste Management currently has a consensus price target of $179.77, indicating a potential upside of 4.66%. Given Waste Management’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts clearly believe Waste Management is more favorable than Befesa.

Institutional and Insider Ownership

78.3% of Waste Management shares are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Waste Management shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, endowments and hedge funds believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

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

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Waste Management	11.47%	34.14%	7.46%
Befesa	N/A	N/A	N/A

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Waste Management and Befesa’s top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Waste Management	$20.14 billion	3.43	$2.24 billion	$5.65	30.40
Befesa	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A

Waste Management has higher revenue and earnings than Befesa.

Summary

Waste Management beats Befesa on 9 of the 9 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 Befesa

Befesa S.A. offers environmental recycling services to the steel and aluminum industries in European, Asian, and North American markets. It operates through two segments, Steel Dust Recycling Services and Aluminium Salt Slags Recycling Services. The Steel Dust Recycling Services segment collects and recycles steel dust and other steel residues generated in the production of crude, stainless, and galvanized steel. The Aluminium Salt Slags Recycling Services segment recycles salt slags; spent pot linings, a hazardous residue generated by primary aluminium producers; and recovers and sells salt, aluminium concentrate, and aluminium oxides. This segment also collects and recycles aluminium scrap and other aluminium residues, such as aluminium dross, shavings, and cuttings; and produces secondary aluminium alloys for automotive and construction industries. It provides logistics and waelz oxide treatment services; and develops projects and technology. Befesa S.A. was founded in 1987 and is based in Luxembourg City, Luxembourg.