Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at Wolfe Research

Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) in a research report released on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating and a $199.00 price objective on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also weighed in on WCN. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price objective (down from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus set a $213.00 target price on Waste Connections and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank set a $197.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce set a $208.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $202.00 price objective for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $203.52.

Waste Connections Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE WCN opened at $166.51 on Friday. Waste Connections has a twelve month low of $155.65 and a twelve month high of $201.66. The stock has a market cap of $42.57 billion, a PE ratio of 39.93, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.62. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $167.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $171.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.37 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 16.25% and a net margin of 11.37%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.16 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Waste Connections will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 25th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.57%.

Institutional Trading of Waste Connections

Large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 2.1% during the second quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 2,949 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $551,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 0.8% in the 3rd quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 7,895 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,388,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,052 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $757,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 2.1% during the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 3,042 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $533,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 2.6% during the 3rd quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 2,556 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $449,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Waste Connections

Waste Connections (NYSE: WCN) is a North American integrated waste services company that provides a range of solid waste and environmental services to municipal, commercial, industrial and residential customers. The company offers collection, transportation, transfer, disposal and recycling services, and operates an extensive network of transfer stations and disposal facilities. Waste Connections positions itself as a provider of infrastructure-driven waste solutions across many regions of the United States and Canada.

The company’s operating activities include routine curbside and commercial collection, roll-off and container services, operation of landfills and transfer stations, and recycling and resource recovery programs.