Analysts Set Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Price Target at $195.56

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) has been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eighteen analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $195.56.

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price 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. CIBC lifted their price target on Waste Connections from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an “outperformer” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen increased their price objective on Waste Connections from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Scotiabank initiated coverage on Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 target price for the company.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections during the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 58.0% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 226 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the third quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the first quarter worth about $43,000. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

NYSE:WCN opened at $186.01 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $48.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $180.85 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $177.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Waste Connections has a 1 year low of $130.33 and a 1 year high of $188.30.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.05. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 10.81%. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.17 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Waste Connections will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th were issued a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. This is a boost from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.