Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Receives $194.19 Average Target Price from Brokerages

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) has received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $194.19.

A number of equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Truist Financial lifted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Waste Connections from $196.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. 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. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Waste Connections from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd.

Waste Connections Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE:WCN opened at $178.60 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.70. Waste Connections has a 1 year low of $126.12 and a 1 year high of $187.54. The company has a market cap of $46.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.97, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $182.16 and its 200-day moving average price is $175.05.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.05. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.23% and a return on equity of 15.16%. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.17 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts expect that Waste Connections will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.315 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. This is a boost from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.01%.

Insider Activity

In related news, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total transaction of $2,902,215.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 48,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,706,466.95. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total transaction of $2,902,215.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 48,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,706,466.95. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Susan Netherton sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.13, for a total transaction of $358,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 10,078 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,805,272.14. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,600 shares of company stock worth $3,842,550 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Connections

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 144,756 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $24,899,000 after buying an additional 8,505 shares in the last quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC raised its position in Waste Connections by 591.5% during the first quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,881 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,700,000 after purchasing an additional 8,452 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd purchased a new stake in Waste Connections during the first quarter valued at approximately $2,986,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 17.5% in the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 58,066 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,988,000 after purchasing an additional 8,632 shares during the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 317,220 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,565,000 after purchasing an additional 3,106 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.