Waste Connections (TSX:WCN)(NYSE:WCN) is a Toronto-based company that provides non-hazardous waste collection, transfer, disposal, and resource recovery services in the United States and Canada. Shares of this defensive stock have dipped 5.5% month-over-month as of close on October 19. The stock is still up 12% in the year-over-year period.
Investors should be eager to get in on the waste disposal space. Allied Market Research estimated that the global waste management market was valued at $1.61 trillion in 2020. It is expected to rise to $2.48 trillion by 2030. That would represent a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.4% from 2021 to the end of the projected period.
The company unveiled its second quarter fiscal 2022 earnings on August 2. Waste Connections delivered revenue growth of 18% to $1.81 billion. Meanwhile, adjusted EBITDA increased 16% from the previous year to $566 million and adjusted net income per share surged 23% to $1.00. Adjusted free cash flow came in at $638 million, or 18.4% of revenue.
Revenue rose to $3.46 billion in the first six months of fiscal 2022 – up from $2.93 billion for the same period in fiscal 2021. Meanwhile, adjusted net income climbed to $470 million or $1.82 per diluted share compared to $396 million or $1.51 per diluted share in the previous year.
Canadian investors can trust this top defensive stock for the long haul. The stock briefly slipped into oversold territory late last week. Waste Connections offers a quarterly dividend of $0.23 per share. That represents a modest 0.6% yield.
