Waste Connections (WCN.TO) Buy, Sell or Hold

Waste Connections (WCN.TO)

220.73

+1.80 (0.82%)

as of Sep 24, 2026, 8:00:00 pm Market Open.

289 watching

HOLD

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.

BUY

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.

PAST TOP PICK

(A Top Pick Mar 03/22, Up 8%)

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.

PAST TOP PICK

(A Top Pick Feb 03/21, Up 51%) Another good chart that will add to. Very good chart (trending upwards). Excellent business model.

SELL

Not cheap. In difficult economic environments, investors sometimes trade up to one best-in-class name in a sector. He sold WCN in favour of WM, which is bigger, more profitable, stronger credit rating. WN is a better quality business at a less demanding multiple. All waste management takes on debt to finance acquisitions.

TOP PICK

Management sees great opportunities ahead. Wants to make more renewable landfill gas sites. Benefits from higher oil prices. Defensive, safe. Excellent management, clean balance sheet. He expects double-digit revenue growth for many years. Also a reopening play. The dual listing is a gift to Canadian investors. (Analysts’ price target is $178.80)

PAST TOP PICK

(A Top Pick Feb 04/21, Up 27%) Best in class in the world from track record in M&A, pricing power, marketing, and growth profile. Resilient demand and pricing power in face of interest rate hikes and situation in Ukraine. Deserves its premium. He's buying on pullbacks.

DON'T BUY

Waste management is not a growth story. The industry tends to grow by consolidation. As economic activity picks up, so will the waste business.

DON'T BUY

Dividend growth? Hoping for growth in the dividend, but it hasn't grown the way he'd like. Fuel and labour costs are increasing. Stable, well run. High multiple and low yield, which is a caution signal, but money keeps flowing in. A basic need, but price is too high for the return. Yield is 0.6%.

DON'T BUY

WCN vs. WM Fell last year, and now is picking up steam. It's more of a utility industrial than a cyclical. If you want cyclical, look at CAT or other industrial names. 28x forward earnings for 11% growth, so a bit rich for him. Fundamentally, a great business. WM has a better valuation than WCN and growth is about the same. To choose, he'd pick the larger one, which is WM.

BUY

Allan Tong’s Discover Picks Of course, nobody knew that a once-in-a-century pandemic would trigger that recession, but WCN survived the pandemic to emerge with a 21.1% gain since my original pick. This figure excludes the dividend, which currently pays 0.67%, and it beats the TSX by 5%. Read Looking back after 100 weeks of Hot TSX Stocks: BAM, Rails, Garbage for our full analysis.

BUY

Likes it. Modelling earnings growth at 19%. Trades at 23.5x 2022 compared to peers at 31x. Price target is $160USD. A great position to have. Has more to go. A very well run business.

TOP PICK

Barbell approach to navigating economic uncertainty over the next 12-18 months. Defensible, resilient cashflows. On the other hand, if the economy takes off, there will be more waste from industry. Best in class management and EBITDA margins, free cashflow. In a good position to do some M&A. Yield is 0.84%. (Analysts’ price target is $145.35)

PAST TOP PICK

(A Top Pick Oct 24/19, Up 11%) They lowered guidance during the lockdown, then revised their guidance back up a few moths later because they saw robust recovery. Waste collection is resilient and will prosper regardless of who will be the US president or trade tensions. SO, WM is well-positioned in a highly fragmented industry that encourages accretive buys.

PAST TOP PICK

(A Top Pick Jul 30/19, Up 12%) Death, taxes and garbage are life's certainties. He's long owned this. WCN continues to do well, though there will be softness from commercial activity, though consider all the cardboard boxes from Amazon deliveries. Still a good company. Well-managed.

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Waste Connections (WCN.TO)