Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) has been assigned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen brokerages that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $202.43.

Several brokerages have commented on WCN. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. 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 research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, CIBC lowered their price target on Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

NYSE:WCN opened at $189.98 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.03 billion, a PE ratio of 79.49, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81. Waste Connections has a 1 year low of $160.34 and a 1 year high of $194.83. 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 simple moving average is $185.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $182.62.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.04). Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 15.54%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Connections will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is currently 52.72%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Connections

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

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.