Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Expectations By $0.04 EPS

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.04), Zacks reports. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.81% and a return on equity of 15.43%.

Waste Connections Trading Down 0.2 %

NYSE WCN traded down $0.39 on Wednesday, hitting $189.54. 1,174,984 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 931,384. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $179.45 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $181.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Waste Connections has a 52-week low of $153.07 and a 52-week high of $194.83. The company has a market capitalization of $48.91 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.07, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.77.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently issued reports on WCN shares. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on Waste Connections from $206.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $199.06.

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.