Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Trading Up 0% on Earnings Beat

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) shares traded up 0% during mid-day trading on Wednesday following a better than expected earnings announcement. The stock traded as high as $166.85 and last traded at $166.18. 135,824 shares changed hands during trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 889,502 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.17.

The business services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.05 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 14.76%. Waste Connections’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be issued a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $166.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $153.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. UBS Group lowered shares of Waste Connections from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and increased their price target for the stock from $170.00 to $181.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $146.50 to $179.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada assumed coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Monday, April 8th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.87.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Andrea E. Bertone sold 902 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.17, for a total transaction of $152,591.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Connections

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Simplicity Solutions LLC raised its stake in Waste Connections by 114.2% during the fourth quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 9,205 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,374,000 after buying an additional 4,907 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB raised its stake in Waste Connections by 51.6% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 220,327 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $32,895,000 after buying an additional 74,995 shares during the last quarter. Sycomore Asset Management raised its stake in Waste Connections by 41.6% during the fourth quarter. Sycomore Asset Management now owns 37,826 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,646,000 after buying an additional 11,110 shares during the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund raised its stake in Waste Connections by 5.0% during the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 214,346 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,787,000 after buying an additional 10,179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Alta Fox Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Waste Connections by 42.1% in the third quarter. Alta Fox Capital Management LLC now owns 51,600 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,930,000 after purchasing an additional 15,300 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Trading Down 0.6 %

The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.62 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.66. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $168.31 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $151.92.

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.