Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Hits New 12-Month High – Here’s Why

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)’s share price reached a new 52-week high on Monday . The company traded as high as $195.64 and last traded at $195.05, with a volume of 1284433 shares. The stock had previously closed at $192.83.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on WCN. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Scotiabank reduced their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $196.00 to $192.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. CIBC reduced their price target on Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.00.

Waste Connections Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $187.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $183.03. The firm has a market capitalization of $50.83 billion, a PE ratio of 82.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.04). Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 6.92%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.72%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Connections

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 0.6% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,293,002 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,025,836,000 after purchasing an additional 174,121 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 8,644,222 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,481,041,000 after buying an additional 356,798 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd raised its position in shares of Waste Connections by 46.2% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 7,177,724 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,231,368,000 after acquiring an additional 2,269,652 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,949,152 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,020,672,000 after acquiring an additional 899,058 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,736,179 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $984,214,000 after acquiring an additional 150,683 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

About Waste Connections

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.