If you're worried about a market crash or just want a safe stock that you can forget about for years, Waste Connections (TSX:WCN)(NYSE:WCN) could be an ideal option. The company recently released its fourth-quarter results and reminded investors why it's a great but boring investment to hang on to.
On Feb. 17, it posted sales of $1.398 billion U.S., which grew 2.7% from the same period last year despite an economic slowdown caused by the pandemic. However, its net income of $130.7 million U.S. was down a modest 2% year over year. Although its operating income improved, the company incurred greater interest expenses which offset that growth.
Acquisitions have played a big part of Waste Connection's growth over the years and the company stated in the earnings release that "acquisition dialogue remains elevated and given the strength of our balance sheet, we remain well positioned to fund additional acquisitions, while also increasing return of capital to shareholders through opportunistic share repurchases and dividend growth."
Over the past 12 months, Waste Connections stock is down more than 7%. However, when looking at the past 10 years, the company has grown 280% in value. Investors can also earn a modest yield of 0.8% from investing in the waste management company.
Although Waste Connections isn't going to make you rich overnight, or even in a year or two, this is an investment that you can safely hold whether there's a recession, downturn, or a pandemic impacting the economy. The demand for waste collection is not going away anytime soon, and that's why this is an ideal investment for risk-averse investors to be holding in their portfolios.
