Dont Buy Waste Management, Buy Casella Waste Systems Instead!
Garbage isnt something you think about every day. You normally just toss stuff into the waste basket
or haul it to the nearest dumpster.
But, how often do you think about who picks this stuff up and where they take it?
Well, Im doing that today!
Believe it or not, garbage is an incredibly profitable industry. According to a little back of the envelope math,publicly traded garbage stocks and penny stocks last year sucked in over $28.9 billion in revenue then spit out over $2 billion in profits!
But thats not what makes this industry really attractive
What I like best about the Garbage industry is simple Garbage isnt going away. I dont care how careful you are, you will generate some level of garbage. And dont forget recycling too. Many of these companies see recycling as a way to further expand their business footprint.
Of course, many investors will be tempted to run out and scoop up shares of the biggest player in the space. Waste Management (WM) is a household name after all and they sponsor a fun golf tournament here in Scottsdale too.
Waste Management currently trades for over $33 a share and has a market cap of just over $15 billion. However, their P/E ratio is over 16x which puts them just over the market average.
But before you jump on that bandwagon, let me give you another idea.
Instead of rushing out and buying WM take a close look at Casella Waste Systems (CWST).
Why Casella?
Well for starters, they have a market cap of only $160 million, and the stock trades at just over $6.00 a share.
But thats not all.
The company is also hugely undervalued. Remember how WMs Price/Earnings ratio was just over 16x well Casella trades at a 75% discount! CWSTs P/E ratio is a hair over 4x.
Buying Casella gives you about four times the earnings power of WM!
Now heres where the story really gets exciting
Projections show WM growing over the next five years at a steady 10.3%… not bad, but dont forget this is a huge company. Growing at that rate might be a struggle.
Casella, on the other hand, is projected to grow at a 20% rate!
Thats twice as much growth over the same time period. Since Casella is a much smaller company, their growth rate is much more achievable. As a matter of fact, I wouldnt be surprised to see an upside growth surprise at some point in their future.
And let me leave you with one final thought
Casella is growing quickly and is very undervalued compared to the industry. That makes them a prime takeover target for a bigger company like Waste Management. And remember, most buyouts come at a big premium to current stock prices.
Any way you slice it, I see more upside in CWST than WM.
Until next time,
Brian Walker
Category: Penny Stock Alerts, Penny Stocks to Buy
