Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Price Target Raised to $206.00

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) had its target price raised by Oppenheimer from $205.00 to $206.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Oppenheimer currently has an outperform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Barclays reissued a “negative” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on Waste Connections in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $221.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank set a $208.00 target price on Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, October 10th. Citigroup lowered their target price on Waste Connections from $199.00 to $196.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $210.63.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Waste Connections stock opened at $176.76 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $45.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.62. Waste Connections has a 12 month low of $169.36 and a 12 month high of $201.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $176.95 and its 200-day moving average is $185.45.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 6.65%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.35 EPS. Waste Connections has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Waste Connections will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 5th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 5th. This is a positive change from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.50%.

Institutional Trading of Waste Connections

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Asset Dedication LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Connections in the second quarter valued at $28,000. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 122.0% during the 1st quarter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. now owns 182 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 994.4% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 197 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 232.3% during the first quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 216 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $41,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

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.