Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Price Target Raised to $191.00 at CIBC

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) had its price objective upped by CIBC from $181.00 to $191.00 in a report issued on Wednesday morning, BayStreet.CA reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

WCN has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. They issued a buy rating and a $189.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Waste Connections from $196.00 to $195.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Waste Connections from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. StockNews.com upgraded Waste Connections from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Saturday, May 18th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Waste Connections from $182.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $179.69.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WCN opened at $177.49 on Wednesday. Waste Connections has a twelve month low of $126.12 and a twelve month high of $177.87. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $167.53 and its 200-day moving average price is $162.93. The company has a market capitalization of $45.80 billion, a PE ratio of 57.64, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.02. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 9.70%. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Connections will post 4.85 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th were issued a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is currently 37.01%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Connections

In other news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.00, for a total value of $169,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $899,249. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.00, for a total value of $169,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $899,249. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Michael W. Harlan sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.59, for a total transaction of $251,385.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,341,390.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,500 shares of company stock valued at $752,385. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new position in Waste Connections in the fourth quarter valued at $592,392,000. UBS Group AG increased its stake in Waste Connections by 3.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 374,208 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $55,858,000 after acquiring an additional 11,600 shares during the last quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC increased its stake in Waste Connections by 114.2% in the fourth quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 9,205 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,374,000 after acquiring an additional 4,907 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its stake in Waste Connections by 51.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 220,327 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,895,000 after acquiring an additional 74,995 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sycomore Asset Management increased its stake in Waste Connections by 41.6% in the fourth quarter. Sycomore Asset Management now owns 37,826 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,646,000 after acquiring an additional 11,110 shares during the last quarter. 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.