SiteOne Landscape Buys Cohen & Cohen, Expands in Canada

SiteOne Landscape SITE has acquired Cohen & Cohen Natural Stone, thus expanding its capacity to provide a full range of hardscape products and landscape supplies to its customers in eastern Canada.
Cohen and Cohen Natural Stone provides a range of natural stone, concrete, masonry and landscape accessories. It has one location in Ottawa, Canada and is an authorized dealer for brands such as Unilock, Best Way Stone, Porcea Stone and Banas Stone. Cohen and Cohen also provides in-house fabrication services, such as ripping, cutting and coring, to ensure that every piece of stone is tailor-made to the client's specific requirements.
This is the fourth acquisition for SiteOne Landscape so far in 2024. Earlier this month, the company announced the acquisition of AC Florida Pavers, LLC, which operates under the trade name Hardscape.com. This buyout will expand SITE's ability to provide hardscape products to its Florida customers and is a significant addition to its existing premium hardscapes offerings nationally.
On Apr 29, 2024, SiteOne Landscape announced the acquisition of Eggemeyer, a wholesale distributor of bulk landscape supplies.  It caters to the greater central and south Texas market from a location in New Braunfels, TX. This addition strengthens SITE's position as the leading bulk landscape distributor in the rapidly growing central Texas region.

On Apr 30, the company announced that it purchased a majority stake in Devil Mountain Wholesale Nursery, LLC (Devil Mountain), with the option to purchase the remaining interest in future years. Devil Mountain is the largest wholesale distributor of landscape trees and plants in California. It has eight wholesale nursery distribution branches and six growing facilities across the state.

In addition to the 11 acquisitions completed in 2023, the company's recent buyouts reflect its ongoing expansion strategy to broaden its presence across various markets.

As of the end of the first quarter, SiteOne Landscape had more than 690 branches and four distribution centers covering 45 U.S. states and six Canadian provinces. Despite being the industry leader and three times larger than its closest competitor, SITE currently holds only a 17% share of the $25 billion wholesale landscaping products distribution market. Backed by its solid acquisition pipeline and strong balance sheet, the company has the potential to capture a larger share of the market.

In the first quarter, the company's net sales increased 8% year over year to $904.8 million. Organic daily sales increased 1% compared with the prior-year quarter due to solid demand. However, pricing declined 4% as double-digit deflation in commodity products like fertilizer, seed and PVC pipe more than offset modest cost increases in other product lines. SiteOne Landscape reported a loss of 43 cents per share against a loss of 10 cents in the year-ago quarter as higher net sales were offset by a lower gross margin and increased SG&A expense. 
SiteOne Landscape anticipates prices to be down approximately 2% in 2024. However, improved volumes will reflect solid end-market demand. The company thus expects organic daily sales growth in the low single digits. SITE expects EBITDA margins to improve aided by operational initiatives, SG&A management and contribution from acquisitions. Adjusted EBITDA is expected to be in the range of $420 - $455 million.

Price Performance

Shares of SiteOne Landscape have lost 14.9% over the past year compared with the industry's 11.3% decline.

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Zacks Rank & Stocks to Consider

SiteOne Landscape currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold).
Some better-ranked stocks from the Industrial Products sector are Kaiser Aluminum KALU, Northwest Pipe Company NWPX and Zebra Technologies ZBRA. Each of these stocks sports a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy).

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Kaiser Aluminium's 2024 earnings is pegged at $4.12 per share, which indicates year-over-year growth of 50.4%. The consensus estimate for earnings has gone up 15% in the past 60 days. The company has a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 137%. KALU shares have gained 32.8% in the past year.

Northwest Pipe has an average trailing four-quarter earnings surprise of 11.48%. The Zacks Consensus Estimate for NWPX's 2024 earnings is pinned at $2.46 per share, which indicates year-over-year growth of 17.7%. Estimates have moved 6% north in the past 60 days. The company's shares have gained 11% in the past year.

The Zacks Consensus Estimate for Zebra Technologies' 2024 earnings is pegged at $12.11 per share. The consensus estimate for earnings has moved up by 9% in the past 60 days. The estimate indicates year-over-year growth of 23%. The company has a trailing four-quarter average earnings surprise of 8.56%. ZBRA shares have gained 8% in the past year.

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