Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Given New $196.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) had its price target raised by stock analysts at Citigroup from $195.00 to $196.00 in a report released on Monday,BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage currently has a “neutral” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Citigroup’s price objective suggests a potential upside of 11.31% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on WCN. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $206.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, CIBC dropped their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $199.75.

Waste Connections Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of NYSE WCN traded up $1.28 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $176.08. 408,210 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 905,662. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.76. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $181.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $180.80. Waste Connections has a 12 month low of $145.35 and a 12 month high of $194.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Connections

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. American Century Companies Inc. increased its stake in Waste Connections by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 19,876 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,485,000 after purchasing an additional 594 shares in the last quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Connections during the second quarter valued at $932,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Waste Connections by 48.7% during the second quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 44,872 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,869,000 after buying an additional 14,690 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Waste Connections by 1.4% during the second quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 541,572 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $94,978,000 after buying an additional 7,378 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP grew its position in Waste Connections by 6.4% during the second quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 386,448 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $67,770,000 after buying an additional 23,194 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.