Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) has earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen analysts that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $199.88.

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $198.00 to $197.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. CIBC increased their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $199.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperformer” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Scotiabank initiated coverage on Waste Connections in a report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 target price for the company.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Connections stock opened at $176.26 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. Waste Connections has a 1 year low of $145.35 and a 1 year high of $194.83. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $184.08 and its 200-day simple moving average is $180.47. The firm has a market cap of $45.49 billion, a PE ratio of 48.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.05. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 10.81%. The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.17 earnings per share. Waste Connections’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Waste Connections will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were paid a dividend of $0.315 per share. This is a boost from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.62%.

Institutional Trading of Waste Connections

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Versor Investments LP increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 75.1% during the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 8,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,470,000 after acquiring an additional 3,527 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter valued at $552,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter worth $2,503,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 65.6% in the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,034 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $543,000 after buying an additional 1,202 shares during the period. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 11.0% during the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 65,052 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $11,408,000 after buying an additional 6,432 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.