Sectors & IndustriesIndustrialsWaste Management

Best Waste Management Stocks to Buy Now (2026)

Top waste management stocks in 2026 ranked by overall Zen Rating. "A" Rated stocks have returned an average of +32.52% per year, and are the best waste management stocks to buy now. Learn More.

According to Zen Ratings, our proprietary rating system that evaluates 115 factors proven to drive growth in stocks and assigns each stock in our system an overall letter grade as well as 7 individual Component Grades for Value, Growth, Momentum, Sentiment, Safety, Financials, and proprietary AI algorithms, the 3 best waste management stocks to buy right now are:

Montrose Environmental Group (NYSE:MEG) is the #1 top waste management stock out of 20 with a Zen Rating of C. Stocks with a rating of C have had an average return of +7.53% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Montrose Environmental Group (NYSE:MEG) is: Value: C, Growth: B, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Montrose Environmental Group (NYSE:MEG) has a Due Diligence Score of 23, which is equal to the waste management industry average of 23.

MEG passed 7 out of 33 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals. Montrose Environmental Group has seen its stock lose -1.98% over the past year, overperforming other waste management stocks by 11 percentage points.

Montrose Environmental Group has an average 1 year price target of $33.67, an upside of 42.6% from Montrose Environmental Group's current stock price of $23.61.

Montrose Environmental Group stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 3 analysts covering Montrose Environmental Group, 33.33% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 33.33% have issued a Buy, 33.33% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) is the #2 top waste management stock out of 20 with a Zen Rating of C. Stocks with a rating of C have had an average return of +7.53% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) is: Value: C, Growth: C, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: B, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) has a Due Diligence Score of 23, which is equal to the waste management industry average of 23.

WCN passed 10 out of 38 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals. Waste Connections has seen its stock lose -6.19% over the past year, overperforming other waste management stocks by 7 percentage points.

Waste Connections has an average 1 year price target of $207.00, an upside of 23.49% from Waste Connections's current stock price of $167.63.

Waste Connections stock has a consensus Strong Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 13 analysts covering Waste Connections, 46.15% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 38.46% have issued a Buy, 15.38% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) is the #3 top waste management stock out of 20 with a Zen Rating of C. Stocks with a rating of C have had an average return of +7.53% per year. Learn more.

The Component Grade breakdown for Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) is: Value: C, Growth: D, Momentum: C, Sentiment: C, Safety: A, Financials: C, and AI: C.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) has a Due Diligence Score of 46, which is 23 points higher than the waste management industry average of 23.

RSG passed 16 out of 38 due diligence checks and has strong fundamentals. Republic Services has seen its stock lose -0.45% over the past year, overperforming other waste management stocks by 13 percentage points.

Republic Services has an average 1 year price target of $249.31, an upside of 18.27% from Republic Services's current stock price of $210.79.

Republic Services stock has a consensus Buy recommendation according to Wall Street analysts. Of the 13 analysts covering Republic Services, 38.46% have issued a Strong Buy rating, 23.08% have issued a Buy, 38.46% have issued a hold, while 0% have issued a Sell rating, and 0% have issued a Strong Sell.

Out of 2 waste management stocks that have issued dividends in the past year, the 2 waste management stocks with the highest dividend yields are:

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) has an annual dividend yield of 1.5%, which is 1 percentage points higher than the waste management industry average of 0.76%. Waste Management's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Waste Management's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Waste Management's dividend payout ratio of 50.7% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) has an annual dividend yield of 1.14%, which is the same as the waste management industry average of 0.76%. Republic Services's dividend payout is stable, having never dropped by more than 10% in the last 10 years. Republic Services's dividend has shown consistent growth over the last 10 years.

Republic Services's dividend payout ratio of 35.1% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Waste management stocks were up 1.5% in the last day, and up 2.47% over the last week.

We couldn't find a catalyst for why waste management stocks are up.

Based on the Valuation rating, one of the 7 components of a stocks overall Zen Ratings grade, which evaluates factors including estimated earnings yield, earnings before interest and taxes/enterprise value, cash flow yield, free cash flow to price, and price-to-earnings growth (PEG ratio), the 3 most undervalued waste management stocks right now are:

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) is the most undervalued waste management stock based on its Valuation Rating of B. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Waste Management has a valuation score of 29, which is 11 points higher than the waste management industry average of 18. It passed 2 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Waste Management's stock has gained 4.84% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the waste management industry by 18 percentage points.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) is the second most undervalued waste management stock based on its Valuation Rating of C. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Republic Services has a valuation score of 43, which is 25 points higher than the waste management industry average of 18. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Republic Services's stock has dropped -0.45% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the waste management industry by 13 percentage points.

Decent Holding (NASDAQ:DXST) is the third most undervalued waste management stock based on its Valuation Rating of C. Valuation is one of 7 Component Grades used to calculate the overall Zen Rating.

Decent Holding has a valuation score of 71, which is 53 points higher than the waste management industry average of 18. It passed 5 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Decent Holding's stock has dropped -63.05% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the waste management industry by -50 percentage points.

55.56% of waste management stocks rated by analysts are a buy right now. On average, analysts expect waste management stocks to rise by 12.67% over the next year.

0% of waste management stocks have a Zen Rating of A (Strong Buy), 0% of waste management stocks are rated B (Buy), 73.33% are rated C (Hold), 20% are rated D (Sell), and 6.67% are rated F (Strong Sell).