Analyzing ARQ (NASDAQ:ARQ) and Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST)

ARQ (NASDAQ:ARQ) and Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) are both business services companies, but which is the superior investment? We will contrast the two companies based on the strength of their profitability, dividends, institutional ownership, earnings, analyst recommendations, valuation and risk.

Insider & Institutional Ownership

18.5% of ARQ shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 99.5% of Casella Waste Systems shares are held by institutional investors. 23.9% of ARQ shares are held by insiders. Comparatively, 3.8% of Casella Waste Systems shares are held by insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that hedge funds, endowments and large money managers believe a stock will outperform the market over the long term.

Profitability

This table compares ARQ and Casella Waste Systems’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
ARQ	-1.40%	-0.07%	-0.05%
Casella Waste Systems	0.64%	4.97%	2.40%

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares ARQ and Casella Waste Systems”s revenue, earnings per share and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
ARQ	$108.96 million	2.77	-$5.11 million	($0.04)	-176.50
Casella Waste Systems	$1.56 billion	3.78	$13.54 million	$0.18	515.17

Casella Waste Systems has higher revenue and earnings than ARQ. ARQ 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.

Volatility and Risk

ARQ has a beta of 1.9, indicating that its share price is 90% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Casella Waste Systems has a beta of 0.84, indicating that its share price is 16% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of current ratings and price targets for ARQ and Casella Waste Systems, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
ARQ	0	0	3	1	3.25
Casella Waste Systems	0	2	5	1	2.88

ARQ currently has a consensus price target of $10.00, suggesting a potential upside of 41.64%. Casella Waste Systems has a consensus price target of $123.17, suggesting a potential upside of 32.82%. Given ARQ’s stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, research analysts plainly believe ARQ is more favorable than Casella Waste Systems.

Summary

Casella Waste Systems beats ARQ on 10 of the 14 factors compared between the two stocks.

About ARQ

Arq, Inc. is a holding company. It engages in the provision of environmental and emission control equipment to the power generation industry. The company operates through the following Segments: Refined Coal and Advanced Purification Technologies. The Refined Coal segment includes the Tinuum Group, Tinuum Services, and GWN Manager. The Advanced Purification Technologies segment refers to the sale of Activated Carbon Injection and Dry Sorbent Injection equipment systems, chemical sales, consulting services, and other sales related to the reduction of emissions in the coal-fired electric generation process and the electric utility industry. The company was founded in 1996 and is headquartered in Greenwood Village, CO.

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.