5-Star Stocks Poised to Pop: Waste Management

Updated

Based on the aggregated intelligence of 180,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, trash hauler Waste Management (NYS: WM) has earned a coveted five-star ranking.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Waste Management's business and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

Waste Management facts

Headquarters (Founded)

Houston (1987)

Market Cap

$16.1 billion

Industry

Waste management

Trailing-12-Month Revenue

$13.2 billion

Management

CEO David Steiner (since 2004)
CFO Steven Preston (since 2011)

Return on Equity (Average, Past 3 Years)

15.7%

Cash/Debt

$282.0 million / $9.7 billion

Dividend Yield

3.9%

Competitors

Casella Waste Systems
Republic Services
Waste Connections

Sources: S&P Capital IQ and Motley Fool CAPS.

On CAPS, 98% of the 2,576 members who have rated Waste Management believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward.

Just last week, one of those bulls, fellow Fool Chuck Saletta (TMFBigFrog), tapped Waste Management as an ideal long-term opportunity:

The best companies to own for the long haul are ones that share a few key characteristics:
• They provide a necessary product or service.
• They build difficult to surmount barriers to competition.
• They directly reward their shareholders for the risks of investing, and
• They don't over-leverage their balance sheets with too much debt.

One of the few companies that fit all those criteria is trash kingpin Waste Management.

Of course, despite its five-star rating, Waste Management may not be your top choice. If that's the case, we've compiled a special free report for investors called "Secure Your Future With 11 Rock-Solid Dividend Stocks," which uncovers several other juicy income opportunities. The report is 100% free, but it won't be around forever, so click here to access it now.

Want to see how well (or not so well) the stocks in this series are performing? Follow the newTrackPoisedToCAPS account.

At the time thisarticle was published Fool contributor Brian Pacampara owns no position in any of the companies mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of Waste Management. Motley Fool newsletter services have recommended buying shares of Waste Management and Republic Services, as well as creating a written covered strangle position in Waste Management. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days.We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Fool's disclosure policy always gets a perfect score.

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