Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Receives Average Recommendation of “Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) have received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the twenty-two analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fourteen have issued a buy recommendation and four have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $203.35.

A number of equities research analysts recently commented on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $213.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $205.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $218.00 target price (up from $210.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $208.00 target price (up from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, UBS Group set a $205.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Monday, January 5th.

Waste Connections Trading Up 0.1%

NYSE:WCN opened at $163.63 on Friday. Waste Connections has a 52 week low of $154.90 and a 52 week high of $199.00. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $164.24 and a 200 day moving average of $168.61. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.91, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.61.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.97% and a return on equity of 16.49%. The company had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. Waste Connections’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Connections will post 5.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.15%.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Connections news, VP James Little sold 2,605 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.98, for a total value of $427,167.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 34,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,640,092.10. This trade represents a 7.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WCN. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the first quarter worth $577,000. Invesco Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 12.8% in the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 219,290 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,946,000 after buying an additional 24,948 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 2.9% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 24,463 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,572,000 after buying an additional 688 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the second quarter worth $2,714,000. Finally, State Street Corp raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 1.0% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,808,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $337,708,000 after buying an additional 17,197 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Company Profile

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.