Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) versus Quad Graphics (NYSE:QUAD) Head to Head Review

Quad Graphics (NYSE:QUAD) and Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) are both industrials companies, but which is the superior stock? We will compare the two companies based on the strength of their dividends, valuation, analyst recommendations, profitability, institutional ownership, earnings and risk.

Analyst Ratings

This is a summary of current recommendations for Quad Graphics and Waste Connections, as reported by MarketBeat.com.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Quad Graphics	0	2	3	0	2.60
Waste Connections	0	3	14	1	2.89

Quad Graphics presently has a consensus target price of $12.00, suggesting a potential upside of 28.49%. Waste Connections has a consensus target price of $199.78, suggesting a potential upside of 30.67%. Given Waste Connections’ stronger consensus rating and higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Waste Connections is more favorable than Quad Graphics.

Profitability

This table compares Quad Graphics and Waste Connections’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Quad Graphics	1.31%	47.90%	4.61%
Waste Connections	10.86%	17.31%	6.62%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

39.5% of Quad Graphics shares are owned by institutional investors. Comparatively, 86.1% of Waste Connections shares are owned by institutional investors. 14.2% of Quad Graphics shares are owned by company insiders. Comparatively, 0.3% of Waste Connections shares are owned by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that large money managers, hedge funds and endowments believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Dividends

Quad Graphics pays an annual dividend of $0.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 4.3%. Waste Connections pays an annual dividend of $1.40 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.9%. Quad Graphics pays out 63.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Waste Connections pays out 33.7% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. Both companies have healthy payout ratios and should be able to cover their dividend payments with earnings for the next several years. Quad Graphics has raised its dividend for 1 consecutive years and Waste Connections has raised its dividend for 8 consecutive years.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Quad Graphics and Waste Connections”s revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Price/Sales Ratio	Net Income	Earnings Per Share	Price/Earnings Ratio
Quad Graphics	$2.42 billion	0.20	$27.00 million	$0.63	14.82
Waste Connections	$9.47 billion	4.05	$1.08 billion	$4.15	36.84

Waste Connections has higher revenue and earnings than Quad Graphics. Quad Graphics is trading at a lower price-to-earnings ratio than Waste Connections, indicating that it is currently the more affordable of the two stocks.

Risk & Volatility

Quad Graphics has a beta of 1.12, meaning that its stock price is 12% more volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Waste Connections has a beta of 0.49, meaning that its stock price is 51% less volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Waste Connections beats Quad Graphics on 14 of the 18 factors compared between the two stocks.

About Quad Graphics

Quad/Graphics, Inc. provides marketing solutions worldwide. The company operates through United States Print and Related Services, and International segments. It offers printing services, such as retail inserts, publications, catalogs, special interest publications, journals, direct mail, directories, in-store marketing and promotion, packaging, newspapers, custom print products, and other commercial and specialty printed products; and paper procurement services. The company also provides marketing and other services, including data and analytics, technology solutions, media services, creative and content solutions, managed services, and execution in non-print channels, as well as manufactures ink. It serves blue-chip companies that operate in various industries, and serve businesses and consumers across various industry verticals comprising retail, consumer packaged goods and direct-to-consumer, as well as financial services and health. The company was founded in 1971 and is headquartered in Sussex, Wisconsin.

About Waste Connections

Waste Connections, Inc. provides non-hazardous waste collection, transfer, disposal, and resource recovery services in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services to residential, commercial, municipal, industrial, and exploration and production (E&P) customers; landfill disposal services; and recycling services for various recyclable materials, including compost, cardboard, mixed paper, plastic containers, glass bottles, and ferrous and aluminum metals. The company owns and operates transfer stations that receive compact and/or load waste to be transported to landfills or treatment facilities through truck, rail, or barge; and intermodal services for the rail haul movement of cargo and solid waste containers in the Pacific Northwest through a network of intermodal facilities. In addition, it provides E&P waste treatment, recovery, and disposal services for waste resulting from oil and natural gas exploration and production activity, such as drilling fluids, drill cuttings, completion fluids, and flowback water; production wastes and produced water during a well's operating life; contaminated soils that require treatment during site reclamation; and substances, which require clean-up after a spill, reserve pit clean-up, or pipeline rupture. Further, the company offers leasing services to its customers. Waste Connections, Inc. was founded in 1997 and is based in Woodbridge, Canada.