Zacks Investment Ideas feature highlights: EVX, Republic Services, Waste Management and Waste Connections

In this article:

For Immediate Release

Chicago, IL – December 6, 2021 – Today, Zacks Investment Ideas feature highlights Features: VanEck Environmental Services ETF EVX, Republic Services, Inc. RSG, Waste Management, Inc. WM and Waste Connections, Inc. WCN.

Don't "Waste" This Opportunity to Buy These 3 Outperformers

Here’s an unpopular truth when it comes to investing – good investing can be boring at times. While trying to get in early on the next big growth story may be exhilarating, allowing solid companies to drive the growth of your portfolio over time will most often pay significant dividends into the future.

Waste removal is an industry that isn’t all that glamorous. Yet when some of the top financial institutions in the world are the largest holders of these stocks, there’s a good reason for it and you’d better pay attention.

The VanEck Environmental Services ETF tracks the performance of companies involved in waste collection, transfer and disposal services, recycling, soil remediation, wastewater management and environmental consulting services. EVX has outperformed the major indices this year with a return of nearly 27%.

The three waste removal firms we will discuss below are the top three constituents in EVX, garnering nearly 30% of the ETF’s total holdings. Volatility has been the name of the game over the past few weeks for the general market, but all three of these companies are still trading within just a few percent of their respective 52-week highs.

Stocks that hold up well through market corrections tend to lead when the indices resume their uptrends. Let’s take a more in-depth look at these three waste removal companies that are showing strength this year.

Republic Services

Republic Services provides waste collection, recycling, disposal, and energy services for commercial, industrial, municipal, and residential customers in the United States and Puerto Rico. Headquartered in Phoenix, AZ, RSG operates over 300 collection facilities in 39 different states.

A Zacks #2 Buy stock, RSG has put together a notable track record of earnings surprises, surpassing estimates in each of the last 20 quarters. The company most recently reported EPS for the quarter ending in September of $0.08, a 7.8% surprise over estimates. RSG has a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 14.2%, which has supported the stock’s 42% return for the year.

RSG management continues to raise guidance and their consistency with dividend payments and share buybacks will ensure that investor confidence remains strong. Analysts covering the firm have revised their full-year earnings estimates upward by nearly 2% over the past 60 days to $4.14, a 16.3% growth rate over 2020. RSG’s next earnings report is due out on February 28th, 2022.

Waste Management

Waste Management is a leading provider of integrated environmental solutions in North America, serving municipal, commercial and industrial customers. Headquartered in Houston, TX, WM has the largest network of recycling facilities and landfills in the industry, and its fleet of natural gas trucks is the largest heavy-duty truck fleet in North America.

WM, currently a Zacks #3 Hold, has built a healthy track record of earnings surprises, beating consensus estimates in 16 out of its last 17 quarters. WM stock has advanced more than 40% this year on the heels of a 3.5% average earnings surprise over the past four quarters.

Dividend payments and share buybacks have continued to provide support for the stock. The Zacks Consensus Estimates for revenue and EPS for the current year stand at $17.81 billion (17.1% growth) and $4.84 (20.1% growth), respectively. WM is next scheduled to report quarterly earnings on February 17th, 2022.

Waste Connections

Waste Connections is an integrated solid waste services company, providing collection, transfer and disposal services in exclusive and secondary markets. The company also provides intermodal services for the movement of cargo and solid waste containers. WCN operates primarily in the United States and is headquartered in The Woodlands, TX.

WCN has a Zacks #3 Hold rank and has strung together a noteworthy history of earnings surprises, exceeding estimates in each of the last twenty quarters. The company most recently reported earnings in late October of $0.89, a 4.7% surprise over consensus. WCN produced an average earnings surprise of 6% over the last four quarters, boosting the stock’s 32% YTD return.

Analysts have revised full-year earnings estimates upward by 2.2% over the past 60 days, anticipating EPS of $3.22. This translates to a respectable 22% growth rate over the 2020 EPS of $2.64. WCN’s next earnings report is due out on February 16th, 2022.

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Past performance is no guarantee of future results. Inherent in any investment is the potential for loss.This material is being provided for informational purposes only and nothing herein constitutes investment, legal, accounting or tax advice, or a recommendation to buy, sell or hold a security. No recommendation or advice is being given as to whether any investment is suitable for a particular investor. It should not be assumed that any investments in securities, companies, sectors or markets identified and described were or will be profitable. All information is current as of the date of herein and is subject to change without notice. Any views or opinions expressed may not reflect those of the firm as a whole. Zacks Investment Research does not engage in investment banking, market making or asset management activities of any securities. These returns are from hypothetical portfolios consisting of stocks with Zacks Rank = 1 that were rebalanced monthly with zero transaction costs. These are not the returns of actual portfolios of stocks. The S&P 500 is an unmanaged index. Visit https://www.zacks.com/performance for information about the performance numbers displayed in this press release.


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