Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $199.69.

A number of brokerages have commented on WCN. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. CIBC decreased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $198.00 to $197.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th.

Institutional Trading of Waste Connections

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 307.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,927,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $344,615,000 after acquiring an additional 1,453,733 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its holdings in Waste Connections by 432.6% in the 3rd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,259,312 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $225,078,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022,851 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in Waste Connections by 35.3% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,678,562 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $478,777,000 after purchasing an additional 699,012 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 44.2% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,964,082 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $351,037,000 after purchasing an additional 602,055 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its position in shares of Waste Connections by 199.4% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 591,250 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $105,727,000 after buying an additional 393,763 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of Waste Connections stock opened at $174.75 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Waste Connections has a 12-month low of $145.35 and a 12-month high of $194.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.10 billion, a PE ratio of 48.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.76. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $181.43 and its 200-day moving average is $180.75.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.81% and a return on equity of 15.43%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.17 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Waste Connections will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This is a boost from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is currently 34.62%.

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.