Waste Connections (TSE:WCN) Upgraded to Hold at Scotiabank

Scotiabank upgraded shares of Waste Connections (TSE:WCN) to a hold rating in a research report sent to investors on Friday, Zacks.com reports.

Separately, ATB Capital increased their price target on Waste Connections from C$240.00 to C$255.00 in a report on Friday, July 26th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have assigned a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections has an average rating of Hold and an average target price of C$196.10.

Waste Connections Trading Up 0.5 %

Waste Connections stock opened at C$240.68 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 100.60. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is C$247.28 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is C$237.60. Waste Connections has a 12 month low of C$174.74 and a 12 month high of C$253.95. The firm has a market cap of C$62.09 billion, a PE ratio of 53.37, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Connections (TSE:WCN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The company reported C$1.70 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of C$1.61 by C$0.09. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.23% and a return on equity of 11.14%. The business had revenue of C$3.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$3.03 billion. Analysts anticipate that Waste Connections will post 9.9808652 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 7th were issued a $0.39 dividend. This represents a $1.56 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 7th. This is an increase from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.39. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.37%.

Insider Activity at Waste Connections

In other news, Senior Officer 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 C$178.05, for a total value of C$2,902,254.12. In other news, Senior Officer 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 C$178.05, for a total value of C$2,902,254.12. Also, Director Edward E. Guillet sold 8,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of C$249.52, for a total value of C$1,996,164.00. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 30,671 shares of company stock worth $6,073,683. 0.21% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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.