Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Given New $191.00 Price Target at Oppenheimer

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) had its price target boosted by Oppenheimer from $181.00 to $191.00 in a research report sent to investors on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

WCN has been the subject of a number of other research reports. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Waste Connections from $182.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft started coverage on Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. They issued a buy rating and a $189.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada dropped their price objective on Waste Connections from $196.00 to $195.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a report on Friday, April 26th. CIBC upped their price objective on Waste Connections from $181.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded Waste Connections from a hold rating to a buy rating in a report on Saturday, May 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $181.53.

Waste Connections Trading Down 0.6 %

WCN stock opened at $181.29 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $46.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.86, a PEG ratio of 3.03 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Connections has a twelve month low of $126.12 and a twelve month high of $182.99. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The business has a fifty day moving average of $171.10 and a 200-day moving average of $165.36.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.05 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 9.70%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Waste Connections will post 4.83 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th were given a dividend of $0.285 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.01%.

Insider Activity at Waste Connections

In related news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.00, for a total transaction of $332,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,049,286. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.00, for a total transaction of $332,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,049,286. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael W. Harlan sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.59, for a total value of $251,385.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,341,390.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,500 shares of company stock valued at $752,385. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Waste Connections

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WCN. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Waste Connections in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $592,392,000. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its stake in Waste Connections by 43.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,364,071 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $651,427,000 after buying an additional 1,320,933 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in Waste Connections by 57.7% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 3,500,718 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $522,988,000 after buying an additional 1,281,418 shares during the period. Clearbridge Investments LLC raised its stake in Waste Connections by 235.5% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,153,882 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $172,240,000 after buying an additional 809,914 shares during the period. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its stake in Waste Connections by 113.0% in the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 1,188,703 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $177,438,000 after buying an additional 630,685 shares during the period. 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.