Zacks Research Cuts Earnings Estimates for Waste Connections

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research lowered their Q4 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Waste Connections in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday, November 13th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the business services provider will earn $1.20 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $1.22. The consensus estimate for Waste Connections’ current full-year earnings is $4.84 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Waste Connections’ Q3 2026 earnings at $1.57 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $6.06 EPS.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 10.81%. Waste Connections’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.17 earnings per share.

WCN has been the topic of several other research reports. Scotiabank started coverage on Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price objective (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Eight Capital upgraded Waste Connections to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $195.56.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of WCN stock opened at $183.50 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $47.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.72. The business’s 50 day moving average is $180.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $176.60. Waste Connections has a 12-month low of $130.33 and a 12-month high of $188.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This is a positive change from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.62%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 307.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,927,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $344,615,000 after acquiring an additional 1,453,733 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 432.6% during the third quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,259,312 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $225,078,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022,851 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 35.3% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,678,562 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $478,777,000 after acquiring an additional 699,012 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 44.2% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,964,082 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $351,037,000 after acquiring an additional 602,055 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 438.5% during the first quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 535,471 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $92,106,000 after acquiring an additional 436,041 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.