Topic: How To Invest

Mr. McKeough: May I have your opinion on Covanta? Thank you.

Article Excerpt

Covanta Holding Corp., $16.19, symbol CVA on New York (Shares outstanding: 144.9 million; Market cap: $2.3 billion; www.covantaenergy.com), operates waste-to-energy facilities through its wholly owned Covanta Energy subsidiary. These plants convert municipal waste into clean, renewable energy. The company also sells auto insurance through another subsidiary, National American Insurance Company. In the three months ended March 31, 2011, Covanta earned $0.91 a share, compared to a loss of $0.05 a year earlier, due to a gain of $225 million on the sale of its Indian and Philippine interests. Disregarding the gain, Covanta lost $0.10 a share in the latest quarter. The stock trades a high 32.3 times this year’s forecast earnings of $0.50 a share. The company’s $2.1-billion debt, which is a high 91.3% of its market cap, also adds risk. We don’t recommend Covanta. Covanta. …