Head-To-Head Analysis: Waste Connections (WCN) vs. The Competition

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) is one of 354 publicly-traded companies in the “Commercial Services & Supplies” industry, but how does it weigh in compared to its peers? We will compare Waste Connections to similar companies based on the strength of its profitability, valuation, analyst recommendations, institutional ownership, earnings, risk and dividends.

Dividends

Waste Connections pays an annual dividend of $1.54 per share and has a dividend yield of 0.8%. Waste Connections pays out 34.5% of its earnings in the form of a dividend. As a group, “Commercial Services & Supplies” companies pay a dividend yield of 2.5% and pay out 67.4% of their earnings in the form of a dividend. Waste Connections has raised its dividend for 8 consecutive years.

Profitability

This table compares Waste Connections and its peers’ net margins, return on equity and return on assets.

	Net Margins	Return on Equity	Return on Assets
Waste Connections	11.40%	17.76%	6.69%
Waste Connections Competitors	-49.89%	-119.08%	-1.28%

Institutional and Insider Ownership

86.1% of Waste Connections shares are held by institutional investors. Comparatively, 39.5% of shares of all “Commercial Services & Supplies” companies are held by institutional investors. 0.3% of Waste Connections shares are held by company insiders. Comparatively, 17.4% of shares of all “Commercial Services & Supplies” companies are held by company insiders. Strong institutional ownership is an indication that endowments, hedge funds and large money managers believe a company will outperform the market over the long term.

Earnings & Valuation

This table compares Waste Connections and its peers top-line revenue, earnings per share (EPS) and valuation.

	Gross Revenue	Net Income	Price/Earnings Ratio
Waste Connections	$9.47 billion	$1.08 billion	42.97
Waste Connections Competitors	$2.47 billion	$140.58 million	4.25

Waste Connections has higher revenue and earnings than its peers. Waste Connections is trading at a higher price-to-earnings ratio than its peers, indicating that it is currently more expensive than other companies in its industry.

Analyst Recommendations

This is a summary of recent ratings and price targets for Waste Connections and its peers, as reported by MarketBeat.

	Sell Ratings	Hold Ratings	Buy Ratings	Strong Buy Ratings	Rating Score
Waste Connections	0	1	17	1	3.00
Waste Connections Competitors	1911	6252	9043	665	2.47

Waste Connections currently has a consensus price target of $203.22, suggesting a potential upside of 5.81%. As a group, “Commercial Services & Supplies” companies have a potential upside of 10.80%. Given Waste Connections’ peers higher possible upside, analysts plainly believe Waste Connections has less favorable growth aspects than its peers.

Volatility and Risk

Waste Connections has a beta of 0.43, meaning that its stock price is 57% less volatile than the S&P 500. Comparatively, Waste Connections’ peers have a beta of 2.50, meaning that their average stock price is 150% more volatile than the S&P 500.

Summary

Waste Connections beats its peers on 11 of the 15 factors compared.

About Waste Connections

Waste Connections, Inc. is a North American provider of non-hazardous solid waste services. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers, with operations across the United States and Canada, particularly in secondary markets and rural communities. Its services include waste collection, transfer and disposal, as well as recycling and resource recovery. In select regions, Waste Connections also provides treatment, recovery and disposal services for waste generated by oil and gas exploration and production.