Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Given Buy Rating at Stifel Nicolaus

Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed their buy rating on shares of Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) in a report released on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a $205.00 target price on the business services provider’s stock, up from their previous target price of $200.00.

WCN has been the topic of a number of other reports. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Waste Connections in a report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Truist Financial lifted their target price on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. CIBC increased their price target on Waste Connections from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an “outperformer” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Eight Capital raised Waste Connections to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $195.56.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Waste Connections stock traded down $2.76 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $175.80. The stock had a trading volume of 780,072 shares, compared to its average volume of 751,559. The company has a market capitalization of $45.37 billion, a PE ratio of 52.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Connections has a 52-week low of $126.12 and a 52-week high of $187.54. The firm’s fifty day moving average is $181.95 and its two-hundred day moving average is $175.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.05. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.23% and a return on equity of 15.16%. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.17 EPS. Waste Connections’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts forecast that Waste Connections will post 4.82 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. This is a boost from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is 34.13%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.75, for a total value of $401,925.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,226 shares in the company, valued at approximately $214,243.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,300 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.75, for a total value of $401,925.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,226 shares in the company, valued at $214,243.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.15, for a total transaction of $180,150.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $778,428.15. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,600 shares of company stock worth $3,842,550 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Waste Connections

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Waste Connections by 116.2% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Asset Dedication LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections in the third quarter worth $41,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the first quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Company Profile

Waste Connections, Inc provides non-hazardous waste collection, transfer, disposal, and resource recovery services in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services to residential, commercial, municipal, industrial, and exploration and production (E&P) customers; landfill disposal services; and recycling services for various recyclable materials, including compost, cardboard, mixed paper, plastic containers, glass bottles, and ferrous and aluminum metals.