Environmental Services Sector

[gfp927z]

Waste Connections (WCN) - >>> A recession won't hurt this company


https://www.fool.com/investing/2020/10/31/worried-about-a-stock-market-crash-buy-these-reces/


Waste Connections' (NYSE:WCN) business makes it one the best recession-proof stocks you could find. It's simple: Whether boom or recession, we don't stop generating trash, keeping a trash-management company like Waste Connections almost always busy. As evidence, despite the COVID-19 pandemic disrupting business because of lockdown, Waste Connections projected 2020 revenue to be $5.33 billion last quarter, down barely 1% from 2019. It expects to generate operating cash flow worth $1.6 billion at the midpoint this year.

Thanks to the resiliency of its revenue and cash flow, Waste Connections has consistently returned a good chunk of its cash flow to shareholders in the form of dividends. Last October, it increased its dividend by a good 15.9%, marking its ninth consecutive year of dividend increases. "The Board intends to review the quarterly dividend each October, with a long-term objective of increasing the amount of the dividend," said the press release. By the time this article is published, I believe Waste Connections should've already announced its tenth annual dividend increase.

Management's goal to not just pay but increase its dividend in the long run should ring in bountiful returns for shareholders like in the past. Not many know about Waste Connections' incredible stock performance: With reinvested dividends, the stock has gained a whopping 522% in the past decade, hugely outperforming industry leader Waste Management. While past performance doesn't guarantee future returns, the durability and resiliency of Waste Connections' dividends, even during tough times, is indisputable.

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