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

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $200.8947.

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on WCN shares. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 13th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, July 24th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.57, for a total value of $416,425.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 734 shares in the company, valued at $122,262.38. This represents a 77.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Robert Cloninger sold 2,811 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.02, for a total transaction of $480,737.22. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 11,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,995,119.32. The trade was a 19.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Waste Connections

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 17,242.8% during the 2nd quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 48,936,350 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,157,200,000 after purchasing an additional 48,654,179 shares during the last quarter. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the second quarter valued at approximately $278,000. Varenne Capital Partners bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the second quarter worth $5,714,000. HB Wealth Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 13.8% in the 2nd quarter. HB Wealth Management LLC now owns 29,175 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,863,000 after acquiring an additional 3,544 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Saudi Central Bank lifted its position in Waste Connections by 89.4% during the second quarter. Saudi Central Bank now owns 17,898 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,983,000 after purchasing an additional 8,448 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Up 1.7%

Shares of NYSE WCN opened at $166.94 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market cap of $42.00 billion, a PE ratio of 40.23, a P/E/G ratio of 2.82 and a beta of 0.48. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $168.02 and its 200 day simple moving average is $163.05. Waste Connections has a 12-month low of $146.89 and a 12-month high of $182.15.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.29 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Connections will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th were issued 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 was Thursday, August 6th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.73%.

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.