Waste Connections (WCN.TO)

Switched out and into WM, which is bigger and better. Still, has no quarrel with this name. Owns fewer landfills, but advantaged by operating in lightly contested geographies. High-single or low-double-digit earnings and dividend growth rate. If you own, no reason to sell.

WCN continues to chug along nicely. Valuation is high at 36X earnings now, but investors are willing to pay up for reliability. Growth has been very steady and decent growth is very much expected over the next two years. The balance sheet is somewhat levered but cash flow can support it. The stock has been solid, up 371% in the past decade. The Q1 was good and the company noted business trends were stable. We would be comfortable owning this.
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Garbage is boring and a beautiful business. Looks poised to break out to new highs. A boring name with strong technicals (price momentum, RSI, and whether institutions are buying or selling). Price momentum is improving and, especially, trading above 50- and 200-day MAs. RSI is reaccelerating. Strong technical setup, with a good fundamental idea. Yield is 0.6%.

Regional monopoly in Canadian markets. Very good position within the market. Able to maintain pricing with margin expansions. Cooling inflation also good for labor costs and bottom line. Not a "roll up" strategy, but might start to look at buying other companies. 

The space has been a fantastic investment. There aren't a lot of options for getting rid of garbage. Once you're on their books, they can gradually increase prices. The issue is that valuations are quite high, and always have been. High barriers to entry. When stocks come off, the expensive ones come off the fastest.

High quality, regional monopolies, pricing power, integration opportunities are plentiful. Valuation is about as high as it goes, which makes him hit pause on buying more. Total return is in the range of high single-digits to low doubles. Easy money's been made. Hold, and don't realize the capital gains on it.

Had a good year and a good 5 years, so there tends to be profit taking. But this is not the time to sell.

It's chugging along. Likes management a lot. This can do well in any economy, strong or weak.

The really great companies that execute well continue to do this in a bull market. This company continues to execute well and is at an all time high.

Defensive. Their business model works in any business cycle, including a downturn. They have contracts with energy companies, which may suffer a bit, but garbage needs to be collected consistently. They run an efficient business and make accretive buys of companies. Has long owned this.

The question was on comparing WSP Global and Waste Connections. The companies are very different. WCN is in the waste management business and WSP Global is more on the engineering side. Waste management is an important field and a consistent business. WCN traditionally has had an expensive valuation. Both are good companies. Hold or wait to buy.

Loves it. There's room for growth in volumes as well as margin expansion.

Has done well. Classified as an industrial, but it doesn't have cyclicality. Pricing power and acquisitions drive the long-term growth. Operate in a lot of uncontested markets. Should continue growing at high single-digit pace. Zero product obsolescence. Sold, and high-graded his portfolio to WM instead. Both are good.

Great business that's grown by acquisition, which has been fruitful. Balance sheet in great shape, tons of free cashflow, inflation-protected contracts. Core position. Great management team. Expects more deals.

It is in the waste collection business - a very defensive place to be. A lot of contracts are tied to the CPI so revenues are bumped up and it can raise prices. Has owned for a long time and will buy more.