Goldman Sachs Analyst Sees Recovery in Waste Business

Date: December 5, 2012

Source: News Room

Investment analyst Alex Ovshey of Goldman Sachs is optimistic about the waste business, an industry he now rates as "Attractive." He notes that residential fixed investment, or money spent on residences, is a key driver of municipal solid waste generation. He believes that the expected recovery in residential fixed investment from historic low levels will boost waste volume and pricing, which will benefit all waste firms. Consequently, he has upgraded his earnings outlook for a number of companies, including the industry's top two players Waste Management (Houston, TX) and Republic Services (Phoenix, AZ). Ovshey reiterated his "Buy" rating on Republic Services and added it to his conviction buy list. A conviction buy implies that Goldman's proprietary trading desk is backing that analysis and may be buying that stock for its own account. He has raised his price target for Republic shares to $37 from a previous price target of $30. Similarly, he has upgraded Waste Managementfrom "Neutral" to "Buy" and increased the company's price target by 21 percent from $33 to $42.

Sign up to receive our free Weekly News Bulletin