5-Star Stocks Poised to Pop: Allied Waste

Based on the aggregated intelligence of 120,000-plus investors participating in Motley Fool CAPS, the Fool's free investing community, garbage hauler Allied Waste Industries (NYSE: AW) has earned a coveted five-star ranking. Our data has shown that five-star stocks outperform the market by a significant margin; conversely, one-star stocks have woefully lagged the market average.

With that in mind, let's take a closer look at Allied Waste's business, and see what CAPS investors are saying about the stock right now.

Allied Waste facts

Headquarters (founded)	Phoenix, Arizona (1987)
Market Cap	$3.90 billion
Industry	Waste Management
TTM Revenue	$6.19 billion
Management	CEO John Zillmer (since 2005) CFO Peter Hathaway (since 2003)
Return on Equity (average last three years)	7.4%
Competitors	Waste Management (NYSE: WMI), Waste Connections (WCN)
CAPS members bullish on AW also bullish on	General Electric (NYSE: GE), Cisco Systems (Nasdaq: CSCO)
CAPS members bearish on AW also bearish on	Hovnanian Enterprises, Bank of America (NYSE: BAC)

Sources: Capital IQ, a division of Standard & Poor's, and Motley Fool CAPS. TTM = trailing 12 months.

Over on CAPS, fully 217 of the 230 members who have rated Allied Waste -- some 94% -- believe the stock will outperform the S&P 500 going forward. These Foolish bulls include DBGMVETTE and amassafortune.

In September, DBGMVETTE wrote that the, "Likely merger of number two and number three national refuse companies [Allied and Republic Services (NYSE: RSG)] ... should create some administrative cost savings that would go to the bottom line." Last Friday, shareholders of Republic, indeed, approved the merger.

In a pitch from late last month, amassafortune agrees, highlighting Allied as a safe way to turn trash into cash:

Allied, Republic, and Waste Management should continue to do well through the recession. They have been successful at raising rates without losing many customers. During slow economic times, the weekly pickup of trash is made, but the volume is lower. That means more stops made before a full truck needs to make a landfill run, and lower dumping fees. Lower recent gas prices have helped improve margin, too. It's no wonder these companies are looking to expand by acquisition.

What do you think about Allied Waste, or any other stock for that matter? Make your voice heard on Motley Fool CAPS today. More than 120,000 investors are waiting to hear what you have to say. CAPS is 100% free, so simply click here to get started.