What is Zacks Research’s Forecast for WCN FY2024 Earnings?

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) – Stock analysts at Zacks Research raised their FY2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for Waste Connections in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, November 13th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the business services provider will post earnings of $4.83 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $4.79. The consensus estimate for Waste Connections’ current full-year earnings is $4.84 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Waste Connections’ Q3 2025 earnings at $1.45 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $5.35 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.53 EPS and Q2 2026 earnings at $1.56 EPS.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.17 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Several other research firms have also commented on WCN. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Waste Connections in a report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, TD Cowen upped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $195.56.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WCN opened at $183.50 on Monday. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $180.83 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $176.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.41, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Connections has a 52 week low of $130.33 and a 52 week high of $188.30.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections in the first quarter valued at about $231,000. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 94.7% in the 1st quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 3,700 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $636,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares during the last quarter. Natixis purchased a new stake in Waste Connections during the first quarter valued at approximately $360,000. MQS Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections in the first quarter worth $681,000. Finally, CreativeOne Wealth LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the first quarter worth $266,000. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were issued a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. This is a boost from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.62%.

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.