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

Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) have received a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $195.56.

Several brokerages have recently commented on WCN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $197.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. CIBC raised their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an “outperformer” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 price target for the company. Eight Capital raised shares of Waste Connections to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Raymond James reduced their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Connections

In other news, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total transaction of $2,902,215.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 48,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,706,466.95. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total value of $2,902,215.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 48,899 shares in the company, valued at $8,706,466.95. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.15, for a total value of $180,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $778,428.15. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,600 shares of company stock worth $3,842,550. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Waste Connections

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Waste Connections by 116.2% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Asset Dedication LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Connections during the third quarter worth about $41,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the first quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Waste Connections in the second quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Waste Connections stock opened at $175.80 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The stock has a market cap of $45.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.63, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $181.95 and a two-hundred day moving average of $175.13. Waste Connections has a 1 year low of $126.12 and a 1 year high of $187.54.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.16% and a net margin of 10.23%. Waste Connections’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.17 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Waste Connections will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This is a boost from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.72%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.13%.

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.