Waste Connections’ (WCN) “Buy” Rating Reiterated at Stifel Nicolaus

Stifel Nicolaus reissued their buy rating on shares of Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a $205.00 target price on the business services provider’s stock, up from their prior target price of $200.00.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on WCN. Raymond James upped their price objective on Waste Connections from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Truist Financial upped their price target on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Eight Capital upgraded Waste Connections to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Waste Connections from $195.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $195.56.

Waste Connections Trading Down 1.5 %

WCN opened at $175.80 on Friday. Waste Connections has a one year low of $126.12 and a one year high of $187.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.37 billion, a PE ratio of 52.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.72. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $181.95 and its 200 day moving average price is $175.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.70.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 15.16% and a net margin of 10.23%. The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.17 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Waste Connections will post 4.82 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a dividend of $0.315 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. This is a positive change from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.13%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Connections

In other news, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total value of $2,902,215.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 48,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,706,466.95. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,300 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.75, for a total value of $401,925.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,226 shares in the company, valued at $214,243.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,600 shares of company stock valued at $3,842,550. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Connections

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WCN. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 116.2% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Asset Dedication LLC acquired a new position in Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at $41,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Waste Connections in the first quarter valued at $43,000. Finally, Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Waste Connections in the second quarter valued at $45,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

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.