Reviewing Sims Metal Management (OTCMKTS:SMSMY) & Montrose Environmental Group (NYSE:MEG)

Montrose Environmental Group (NYSE:MEG) and Sims Metal Management (OTCMKTS:SMSMY) are both small-cap business services companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their earnings, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, valuation, risk and dividends.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a breakdown of recent recommendations and price targets for Montrose Environmental Group and Sims Metal Management, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Montrose Environmental Group	1	2	4	0	2.43
Sims Metal Management	1	0	0	0	1.00

Montrose Environmental Group currently has a consensus price target of $34.40, suggesting a potential upside of 32.56%. Given Montrose Environmental Group’s stronger consensus rating and higher probable upside, research analysts plainly believe Montrose Environmental Group is more favorable than Sims Metal Management.

Institutional & Insider Ownership

87.9% of Montrose Environmental Group shares are held by institutional investors. 11.9% of Montrose Environmental Group shares are held by company 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 Montrose Environmental Group and Sims Metal Management’s net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Montrose Environmental Group	-2.52%	0.17%	0.08%
Sims Metal Management	N/A	N/A	N/A

Volatility and Risk

Montrose Environmental Group has a beta of 1.84, suggesting that its stock price is 84% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Sims Metal Management has a beta of 1.24, suggesting that its stock price is 24% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Valuation & Earnings

This table compares Montrose Environmental Group and Sims Metal Management”s gross revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Montrose Environmental Group	$696.40 million	1.32	-$62.31 million	($0.91)	-28.52
Sims Metal Management	$4.85 billion	0.41	-$12.30 million	N/A	N/A

Sims Metal Management has higher revenue and earnings than Montrose Environmental Group.

Summary

Montrose Environmental Group beats Sims Metal Management on 9 of the 12 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Montrose Environmental Group

Montrose Environmental Group, Inc. operates as an environmental services company in the United States, Canada, and internationally. The company operates in three segments: Assessment, Permitting and Response; Measurement and Analysis; and Remediation and Reuse. The Assessment, Permitting and Response segment provides scientific advisory and consulting services to support environmental assessments; environmental emergency response and recovery; toxicology consulting and environmental audits and permits for current operations; facility upgrades; new projects; decommissioning projects; and development projects. This segment also offers technical advisory and consulting services, including regulatory compliance support and planning, environmental, ecosystem and toxicological assessments, and support during responses to environmental disruptions. The Measurement and Analysis segment tests and analyzes air, water, and soil to determine concentrations of contaminants, as well as the toxicological impact of contaminants on flora, fauna, and human health. Its services include source and ambient air testing and monitoring, leak detection, and advanced analytical laboratory services, such as storm water, wastewater, and drinking water analysis. The Remediation and Reuse segment provides engineering, design, implementation, and operations and maintenance services primarily to treat contaminated water, remove contaminants from soil, or create biogas from waste. The company serves financial, oil and gas, utilities, construction, automotive, real-estate, midstream energy, manufacturing, commodities, petrochemical, food and beverage, telecommunications, and engineering industries, as well as local, state, provincial, and federal government entities. Montrose Environmental Group, Inc. was founded in 2012 and is headquartered in North Little Rock, Arkansas.

About Sims Metal Management

Sims Limited engages in buying, processing, and selling ferrous and non-ferrous recycled metals in Australia, Bangladesh, China, Turkey, the United States, and internationally. The company operates through six segments: North America Metals, Investment in SA Recycling, Australia/New Zealand Metals, UK Metals, Global Trading, and Sims Lifecycle Services. It is involved in the collection, processing, and trading of iron and steel secondary raw materials; and other metal alloys and residues, principally aluminum, lead, copper, zinc, and nickel bearing materials. The company also engages in the provision of environmentally responsible solutions for the disposal of post-consumer electronic products, such as information technology assets recycled for commercial customers; and environmentally responsible recycling of negative value materials, including electronic equipment. In addition, it provides secondary processing and other services comprising recycling of municipal curbside materials, stevedoring, and other sources of service. The company was founded in 1917 and is headquartered in Mascot, Australia.