Waste Connections (WCN) Acquires American Disposal Services

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) yesterday announced that it has completed the acquisition of American Disposal Services, Inc. and certain affiliates.

American Disposal Services is one of the largest privately-owned solid waste collection and recycling businesses in the Mid-Atlantic. With total annualized revenues of almost $175 million, the company serves nearly 400,000 customers in Virginia, Maryland, Georgia and Colorado.

The financial terms of the deal have been kept under the wraps. The deal was initially announced during the company’s third-quarter 2018 earnings call, held on Oct 30, 2018.

Deal Benefits

The acquisition is expected to enhance Waste Connections’ geographic presence.The buyout is anticipated to provide new market platforms for growth opportunities in Georgia and Virginia. Further, it should boost Waste Connections’ presence in Denver, where the acquired company’s collection services will be incorporated in its vertically integrated operations.

Notably, the company has been active on the acquisition front of late. In the first nine months of 2018, Waste Connections completed the purchase of 15 individually immaterial non-hazardous solid waste collection, recycling, transfer and disposal businesses. The company expects to generate total annualized acquired revenues of nearly $360 million in 2018 through its growth-by-acquisition policy.

For 2019, the company expects 8-10% revenue growth and witness margin expansion, backed by contributions from these acquisitions and price-led organic growth.

Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

Currently, Waste Connections carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.

Some better-ranked stocks in the broader Zacks Business Services sector are Accenture plc (NYSE:ACN) , Automatic Data Processing Inc. (NASDAQ:ADP) and Navigant Consulting, Inc. (NYSE:NCI) , each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy). Long-term expected EPS (three to five years) growth rate for Accenture, Automatic Data Processing and Navigant is 10.3%, 12.5% and 13.5%, respectively.

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