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 -1 points lower than the waste management industry average of 24.

MEG passed 7 out of 33 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals. Montrose Environmental Group has seen its stock return 17.89% over the past year, overperforming other waste management stocks by 29 percentage points.

Montrose Environmental Group has an average 1 year price target of $33.67, an upside of 57.18% from Montrose Environmental Group's current stock price of $21.42.

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.

Perma Fix Environmental Services (NASDAQ:PESI) 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 Perma Fix Environmental Services (NASDAQ:PESI) is: Value: D, Growth: B, Momentum: C, Sentiment: B, Safety: C, Financials: D, and AI: D.

Perma Fix Environmental Services (NASDAQ:PESI) has a Due Diligence Score of 33, which is 9 points higher than the waste management industry average of 24.

PESI passed 10 out of 33 due diligence checks and has average fundamentals. Perma Fix Environmental Services has seen its stock return 75.12% over the past year, overperforming other waste management stocks by 86 percentage points.

One & One Green Technologies (NASDAQ:YDDL) 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 One & One Green Technologies (NASDAQ:YDDL) is: Value: C, Growth: C, Momentum: B, Sentiment: C, Safety: C, Financials: C, and AI: C.

One & One Green Technologies (NASDAQ:YDDL) has a Due Diligence Score of 7, which is -17 points lower than the waste management industry average of 24.

YDDL passed 2 out of 33 due diligence checks and has weak fundamentals.

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 1.41%, which is 1 percentage points higher than the waste management industry average of 0.73%. 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 49.2% indicates that its dividend yield is sustainable for the long-term.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) has an annual dividend yield of 1.09%, which is the same as the waste management industry average of 0.73%. 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 down -0.46% in the last day, and down -1.33% over the last week. Republic Services was the among the top losers in the waste management industry, dropping -0.89% yesterday.

Republic Services shares are trading lower after the company reported worse-than-expected Q4 sales results and issued FY26 guidance below estimates.

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 9 points higher than the waste management industry average of 20. It passed 2 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Waste Management's stock has gained 3.01% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the waste management industry by 14 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 29, which is 9 points higher than the waste management industry average of 20. It passed 2 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Republic Services's stock has dropped -3.22% in the past year. It has overperformed other stocks in the waste management industry by 7 percentage points.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) 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.

Waste Connections has a valuation score of 43, which is 23 points higher than the waste management industry average of 20. It passed 3 out of 7 valuation due diligence checks.

Waste Connections's stock has dropped -14.05% in the past year. It has underperformed other stocks in the waste management industry by -3 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 10.97% 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), 83.33% are rated C (Hold), 8.33% are rated D (Sell), and 8.33% are rated F (Strong Sell).