STOCKCHASE

Very well-managed company. Just missed on their earnings today but that was on weakness in the northeast sector of their markets. Have been making very good strategic acquisitions. Expecting an improvement in their profitability over the next few years.

2012-04-27

PAST TOP PICK

21.960

(A Top Pick Apr 8/11. Down 11.12%.) Had an unexpected change in their CEO. As the market gets to know him, they will like him which will be positive.

2012-04-04

PAST TOP PICK

21.570

(Top Pick Mar 22/11, Down 4.02%) Not concerned about the decline and is keen on it still. Industry was consolidating.

2012-03-29

PAST TOP PICK

22.120

(Top Pick Mar 24/11, Down 6.31%) Likes the fundamentals and thought it was fairly non-cyclical. But they have experienced a fair amount of price competition in their US northeast division. He made some profit.

2012-03-27

DON'T BUY

20.700

Jason Donville

Very complex accounting and unless you have a strong accounting background and are in the kind of accounting you need for an environmental site, he would stay away.

2012-03-05

PAST TOP PICK

22.310

(A Top Pick April 8/11. Down 10.14%.)

2012-01-25

PAST TOP PICK

22.310

Hap (Robert) Sneddon FCSI

(A Top Pick April 8/11. Down 10.14%.)

2012-01-25

DON'T BUY

21.060

Charts aren’t telling us much. It had a little bit of a bottom last August and another test in December and is now into a bit of an upward trend. It's close to meeting its upward resistance. There are probably better opportunities elsewhere.

2012-01-19

BUY

19.200

There is a great deal of consolidation in waste management. What they have done, which is very, very smart, is expanding in areas contiguous with the areas where they already have operational efficiencies. Good entry point, but you will have to be patient with this stock.

2011-12-19

TOP PICK

19.870

Barry Schwartz

Focused on garbage and waste hauling in North America. Last quarter disappointed in terms of the US division, but he thinks that was a combination of one-time items. Valuation is very attractive. Management says they are going to focus more on shareholders. Expect a dividend increase as well as share buyback.

2011-12-12

SELL

19.870

Jason Donville

(Market Call Minute) Too hard to analyze. Financials are too complex.

2011-12-12

TOP PICK

21.000

Well positioned in a recessionary environment. Extremely well-managed in strategic tuck in acquisitions for synergies. 3rd quarter was a disappointment because of their Northeast US operations. Results in Canada and southern US were in-line. Good price.

2011-10-31

DON'T BUY

21.570

Prakash Hariharan

A defensive, overvalued name. Have not demonstrated they are recession-proof. Disappointed with exposure to broad economic conditions.

2011-10-28

TOP PICK

22.050

Andrew Hamlin

Very stable business. Waste collections and transfer agents for industrial and commercial customers across North America. Good, strong cash flow generator. Looking for 4%-5% growth.

2011-10-07

PAST TOP PICK

22.340

In a recession resistant industry. Had a change in CEO, incoming has been with company for a long time.

2011-10-06

BUY

21.990

Budget cuts in the US operations? Pretty safe as you keep on getting 2%-3% increases in the fees for collecting trash. Some economic sensitivity, especially in the US. If construction and housing are down a lot, as they had been, their volumes are down. Acquired a big operation in St. Louis this year.

2011-09-29

TOP PICK

21.240

Likes the story. A well managed company. 40% Canada and 60% US. Strategic acquisition leads to growth. Throws off great cash flow. The market has ignored this company for so long. Will not be constrained in acquisitions like the rest of the market.

2011-08-23

BUY

19.770

Andrew Hamlin

Garbage landfill sites and transfer sites. Likes this space and thinks there are good opportunities. Solid management. Had a Q2 miss on their earnings and a change in CEOs creating a sell off in the stock. Great opportunity for very sustainable yields.

2011-08-16

TOP PICK

19.570

Waste management. Good stable business. Whatever happens in Europe or in equity markets, people still produce garbage. Waste per capita goes up every year. Generates a significant amount of free cash flow and pays 2.5% dividend.

2011-08-09

HOLD

20.470

Michael Smedley

52 week low. There’s your bear market. Changed name, thank goodness. Good senior waste management company in North America. It’s over sold. Hang in there.

2011-08-03

TOP PICK

21.700

Grown aggressively by acquisition. Looks like fairly solid earnings. Some organic growth and some from acquisitions. Well run company that is going to do well.

2011-07-26

TOP PICK

22.470

Solid waste management, both pick up and disposal. Industry is very fragmented with lots of room for consolidation. Profits are growing and dividends are increasing. Good business model and solid management.

2011-07-22

TOP PICK

25.020

Hap (Robert) Sneddon FCSI

Waste management. Very defensive. Recession resistant. Very strong track record of growth, both organically and by acquisition.

2011-04-08

BUY

23.980

A bit of a wedge that it is about to break out of. Bouncing along the 125 day moving average. Each low is less low, so the rounding top doesn’t mean much. Volume is good.

2011-03-25

TOP PICK

24.010

One of the largest waste management companies in North America. The waste per capita goes up every year. Lot of good industry fundamentals. 2% Dividend. Have trucks and landfills, do commercial and residential. Did a secondary offering last evening to liquidate an acquired company’s stock. This had been an overhang.

2011-03-24

TOP PICK

23.150

Owned it for years. Has a terrible name. Growing rapidly through acquisitions – 15 in 2010. You buy it for the growth in their business and a growing dividend over time.

2011-03-22

TOP PICK

23.680

Growth company, third largest solid waste company in North America. Keeps making acquisitions. It’s a fragmented industry where there are always companies you can buy. Well run and you will see dividend growth.

2010-10-18

PAST TOP PICK

23.410

(A Top Pick Aug 20/09. Up 69.80%.)

2010-07-27

DON'T BUY

23.150

Barry Schwartz

Was buying heavily for clients at $10. Not a lot of upside left. Don’t want to raise dividend, but rather want to grow.

2010-07-20

PAST TOP PICK

20.240

Don Lato

(A Top Pick June 10/09. Up 82.63%.) Still a buy.

2010-05-19

PAST TOP PICK

18.800

Don Lato

(A Top Pick June 10/09. Up 63% excluding yield.) Waste disposal. Still a Hold.

2010-04-14

PAST TOP PICK

17.560

(A Top Pick April 3/09. Up 72.4%.) Just sold.

2010-03-31

PAST TOP PICK

18.520

(Top Pick Aug 20/09, Up 25.63%) Still likes it.

2010-03-05

TOP PICK

18.310

There are 3 realities of life. Death, Taxes and garbage. Strong earnings; converted from a trust and cut dividend in half so it is a growth story now. Risks are environmental problems, but they are good managers.

2010-02-25

WAIT

18.180

Barry Schwartz

Good company. Owned it for a long time. Well run, smart management. Cleaned up balance sheet. Margins are strong. Will grow over time. Multiple makes it looks cheap. Wait for a pullback. A good dividend paying stock. $16-17 would be a good time to get in.

2010-02-22

BUY

17.340

Michael Smedley

Loves Garbage and Garbage names. The merger is going to be well accomplished. Bought it himself.

2010-01-21

PAST TOP PICK

16.860

(A Top Pick Apr 3/09. Up 74.23%.) Getting a little extended here. Still a Hold but if it rolls over he will Sell.

2009-12-30

PAST TOP PICK

13.970

(A Top Pick Aug 20/09. Down 3.15%.)

2009-10-08

TOP PICK

14.360

3rd largest waste management company in North America. Great example of a very solid, stable business. Recession resistant. A lot of growth opportunities. Generates a significant amount of free cash flow of almost 11%.

2009-08-20

DON'T BUY

14.350

David Burrows

Has not been one of the strongest names in the group and you would be better to go to one of the stronger ones such as Waste Management (WM-N).

2009-08-06

BUY on WEAKNESS

13.150

Good yield. Stable business. Pretty aggressive and are expanding into the US. Could see $15-$16 if the market stayed stronger.

2009-07-10

TOP PICK

11.510

Don Lato

Waste management. Somewhat recession proof. Have gained in the penalty box for a couple of years. Changed from an income trust (Formerly BFC trust.) To a growth oriented company. Dividend of about 5%. Fairly highly leveraged.

2009-06-10

DON'T BUY

11.170

Norman Levine

Big player in the North American waste disposal/garbage business. Balance sheet issues they addressed by raising some money. Garbage is economically sensitive. The more an economy prospers, the more industry and populace produce waste. A little early for this one.

2009-06-08

PAST TOP PICK

12.310

(A Top Pick Apr 28/08. Down 39.23%.) Mild decrease in organic growth because of the recession. Bit of a disappointment when management decided to convert to a corporation early and slashed the dividend. Keeping an eye on management. On his Watch list.

2009-05-26

TOP PICK

10.200

Garbage. Quiet company and not very cyclical. 50% corporate garbage. Should have very steady cash flow going forward. 5% yield.

2009-04-03

BUY

9.400

(Market Call Minute.) Cheap relative to its US peers. Did a recent equity issue that cleans up their balance sheet a bit.

2009-02-27

HOLD

8.470

Converted to a Corp. from a trust and cut its distributions. Waste management is a recession resistant group. Positive on the long-term story. One issue is the balance sheet where US debt is a little closer to the covenant than she would like. Some pressure from the market waiting to see how they de-leverage themselves in the US and this is currently in the works. Wait for the results before Buying. Good long-term hold.

2009-02-03

BUY

8.110

Waste management has become a good place to be. When it turned back into a corporation, stock got hammered. Longer-term outlook is quite positive. Balance sheet is not particularly strained.

2009-02-02

BUY

14.400

You would think garbage would be a pretty good business, even in a recession. Big dividend yield of 12.89%. Even if it dropped by 1/3, it is still 8%. Thinks it has been oversold. A lot of their revenue is in US$.

2008-11-06

PAST TOP PICK

13.000

(A Top Pick Apr 28/08. Down 41%.) Has been a major disappointment. Distribution was slashed and is no longer acceptable to yield oriented investors. Need to do a lot of acquisitions and have high levels of debt.

2008-10-29

DON'T BUY

18.200

(Market Call Minute.) Debt levels are still pretty high.

2008-09-19

DON'T BUY

19.400

Kevin O'Leary

Signal to everybody that they were doing a restructuring but never mentioned a cut in distributions. They lost 17% of the market value, crushing their shareholders. A lot of credibility issues. Thinks it will go sideways for quite a while.

2008-08-25

WAIT

18.640

Robert Floyd

Because of recent trust legislation, they can no longer acquire further assets. Management is going back to a corporate structure. Need cash for acquisitions so have pulled back on distributions. Wait until there are more growth investors onside. Wait for it to form a base.

2008-08-21

Comment

21.480

Peter Brieger

Seriously considering this one. Good fundamentals. A key player in the waste management business.

2008-07-16

BUY

21.500

For an income trust, it was an excellent model of relatively stable cash flow. When it converts to a corporation in 2011, there will be tax implications. The market is already pricing this in. Reasonable at today's price. 8.3% yield. Some of the recent selloff is in anticipation of a slowdown in the US economy, but longer-term an excellent business to be in.

2008-04-30

TOP PICK

22.090

Major North American waste management firm. Recession proof. Stock has pulled back because management has stated that they may want to convert to a corporation earlier than 2011 but has said they will continue paying high levels of income. Can't see much downside if they do convert.

2008-04-28

BUY

21.400

Ben Cheng

Much of their revenue and bottom line is derived from the US. As the US new home construction market slows, this will affect them. Doesn't expect earnings or cash flow to rebound in 2008. Longer term, it is in a very good business. 8.4% yield should be safe. Not a bad entry point.

2008-04-16

WEAK BUY

22.020

Norman Levine

Operationally it’s been chugging along. They’re not seeing signs of a recession yet. A growth company, should be a regular corporation. It’s reasonably priced, good entry point. The 8% yield is safe for the time being. Could see a little more downside in the stock.

2008-03-27

BUY

24.200

Andrew Guy, CFA

Waste management. A sector that is very steady through all cycles. Trading in line or slight discount to some of the US competition and there are some concerns on consolidation but they have done a great job of making acquisitions in the US. Very good management team that is able to grow its business and distributions over time.

2008-02-06

PAST TOP PICK

24.250

Dean Orrico

(A Top Pick Nov 10/06. Up 5.8% including distributions.) Waste management. Still likes. A relatively recession resistant business. Low payout ratio.

2008-01-29

PAST TOP PICK

23.900

(A Top Pick Feb 23/07. Down 3.4% including distributions.) One of the premier waste management companies in North America. Industry leading margins. Good entry point.

2008-01-22

Comment

24.380

As the 2011 tax changes come near, investors will be pricing this in. This company is a good model for an income trust. What has been hurting them is that they have a lot of operations in the US and the stronger Cdn$ has had a negative impact. He is starting to look at this at these levels. Yield of about 7.5%.

2008-01-08

BUY

25.900

This is a good example of a trust that has a lot of flexibility between now and 2011. Made a very good trust and has done very well with a good steady, stable cash flow. One of the more growthy trusts. Feels the distribution is very sustainable.

2007-12-04

BUY

25.690

Trades at about 8.5 EBITDA basis. 60% of their operations is in the US. Feels that in 2011 their taxes will be up from about 11% to about 22%. Organic growth has vastly outperformed its US peers. Strong management and conservatively run.

2007-11-28

TOP PICK

26.640

Waste management. Recession resistant. Very stable operating results. Made an acquisition in the Northeast US, which solidifies their position in the Northeast US.

2007-10-03

TOP PICK

26.160

Waste management. Operations in Canada and US. Very stable business. Recession proof. Organic growth has been phenomenal.

2007-08-23

BUY

28.720

Chris Rankin, MBA, CFA

Long-term outlook is very good. Great organic growth. A large portion of their business is in the US, so there is currency risk.

2007-07-13

PAST TOP PICK

28.760

(A Top Pick May 5/06. Up 4.4%.) One of the dominant players in the non-hazardous waste management. Recession resistant. Probably one of the better growth stories in the trust sector.

2007-07-11

BUY

28.350

Sandy McIntyre

A great company.

2007-07-03

BUY on WEAKNESS

28.330

A core holding in their portfolio. Recession proof, very well managed.

2007-06-11

BUY

29.210

Waste management. Tends to be a very steady Eddy in the market.

2007-05-28

TOP PICK

29.160

Andrew Guy, CFA

Very strong management team. Made acquisitions. A consolidator in the waste management business. Have moved into the US, which has doubled their size. Pays down their debt.

2007-05-25

TOP PICK

28.130

Patrick Kim

On a very positive upswing right now. Garners most of its earnings from the US. Strong organic growth. Very under appreciated.

2007-05-14

BUY

26.100

Sandy McIntyre

Waste collection and landfills. Growth business. Relatively high finance leveraged but recently did a share issue to pay it down. Good holdings.

2007-04-13

BUY

25.790

Andrew Guy, CFA

Very strong business. 4th or 5th biggest waste management company in North America. Manages its cash flow very well.

2007-04-09

BUY

26.150

Extremely well managed. A great long-term holding. Great track record of organic and acquisition growth. Relatively recession proof.

2007-03-23

BUY

26.120

Waste management in Canada and US. This is a defensive business. Recently raised some equity to pay down debt. Very solid revenue growth. Long-term hold.

2007-03-20

TOP PICK

26.400

Strong quarterly results. Organic growth was in the 8%-10% range. Good prospects going forward.

2007-03-09

TOP PICK

26.320

2nd largest player in Canada and 5th in North America. Issues with shorter life in their landfills should be resolved. Good history of increased distributions.

2007-02-23

Comment

27.450

Chris Rankin, MBA, CFA

A great business with the ability to pass on price increases. Payout ratio of about 94%.

2007-02-09

BUY

27.100

A core position in her funds. A great business. Good management. Have achieved 7%-9% organic growth over the last 3 or 4 years.

2007-02-02

BUY

28.000

Patrick Kim

6th largest solid waste management company in North America. Have recovered quite nicely. Coming off very strong Q3 results. Expect they can grow quite nicely organically. Will benefit from a strengthening US$.

2007-01-26

TOP PICK

25.500

A very defensive name. Garbage disposal. In five provinces of Canada and have expanded into the US. About 60% of their revenues and cash flow comes from the US now.

2007-01-04

BUY

25.860

John Stephenson

A good name to hold. Has possibilities to do some interesting things. 60% of its EBITDA comes from the US. Stable and good management.

2006-11-16

TOP PICK

24.850

Dean Orrico

(A Top Pick June 23/06. Down 7.2%.) A good quality business trust. 4th or 5th largest waste management in North America. Q3 numbers show a 12% increase in Canada and 10% in the US.

2006-11-10

PAST TOP PICK

30.320

(A Top Pick July 6/06. Up 7.8%.) Yields about 6%. The ideal business trust because of high barriers to entry, experienced management.

2006-10-30

PAST TOP PICK

30.000

(A Top Pick May 5/06. Up 8.7%.) A quality name in the business trust area. Pretty fully valued at this point. Should continue to deliver pretty good growth.

2006-10-27

PAST TOP PICK

28.860

Neil Wickham

(A Top Pick June 20/06. Up 13% plus the dividend.) A good solid business.

2006-10-03

PAST TOP PICK

29.280

(A Top Pick July 6/06. Up 6.2%.) Nothing can be more boring, but stable, then hauling trash. Would still buy.

2006-09-06

TOP PICK

27.910

Garth Jestley

(A Top Pick Dec 2/05. Down 4%.) In an economy where there may be some de-acceleration of earnings, this is a defensive holding. Is good at making acquisitions. Good landfill holdings.

2006-08-11

TOP PICK

27.700

They have landfill capacity. Made a big acquisition in eastern US. Earnings were up 14%. A nice, stable, defensive, boring business. An ideal business as an income trust.

2006-08-10

BUY

28.490

Sandy McIntyre

Has been flat for most of the year. Payout ratio has gone down and he expects distribution increases. Acquired the Ridge Landfill in Ontario and may be the only one that could be a solution for Toronto’s garbage problem. This could give a nice increase in cash flows.

2006-07-28

BUY

27.220

Bruce Hartman

Payout ratio is reasonable at 85%. Recession resistant business. Management has done a great job in acquiring/expanding landfill sites. Organic growth is good at around 6%. Made a big US acquisition and have integrated it extraordinarily well. Hedged their US currency exposure.

2006-07-14

TOP PICK

28.000

Waste management. The ideal model for a business trust. Has a lot of landfills. 6% yield.

2006-07-06

TOP PICK

27.350

Dean Orrico

One of the better quality business trusts. 5th largest waste management company in North America. Made a number of tuck-in acquisitions but have also acquired some landfill companies. Should continue to see growth. Pullback gives a good buying opportunity.

2006-06-23

BUY

26.700

Had a lot of growth. Now that growth has been captured, you should probably only expect to clip your distribution of about 6.5/7% a year. On top of that, you can hope for 2/3% growth per year. Could possibly move closer to $27/28 but may take a year. Integrating a large US acquisition.

2006-06-21

TOP PICK

26.000

Neil Wickham

Waste management company. One third of their business is Canadian and the rest is US. Have their own landfills. Strong revenue and cash flow. Yield of 6.5%.

2006-06-20

TOP PICK

27.600

A very stable business. Declined along with other business trusts. Very strong organic growth in both Canada and US. Have landfill in Ontario that could be called on for Toronto garbage, which could be an upside. Solid management. Payout ratio 85/80%.

2006-06-01

HOLD

26.900

Ben Cheng

One of the more solid and well-suited businesses for an income trust. Have a tremendous cost advantage with their landfill site. Growth pattern is probably in the low single digit category. Not as many acquisition prospects for them going forward. Too expensive.

2006-05-19

TOP PICK

26.660