National Bank Financial Upgrades Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) to “Strong-Buy”

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) was upgraded by stock analysts at National Bank Financial to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note issued on Monday,Zacks.com reports.

WCN has been the topic of a number of other reports. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, William Blair started coverage on Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $212.23.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of WCN opened at $196.26 on Monday. Waste Connections has a one year low of $160.34 and a one year high of $201.66. The company has a market cap of $50.71 billion, a PE ratio of 82.12, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $193.83 and a 200-day moving average of $187.16.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.06. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 6.92%. The business had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.04 earnings per share. Waste Connections’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts predict that Waste Connections will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Connections

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 4.6% in the 1st quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 1,278 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $249,000 after purchasing an additional 56 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 705 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $121,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. MWA Asset Management increased its stake in Waste Connections by 1.2% during the first quarter. MWA Asset Management now owns 4,783 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $934,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Tranquility Partners LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Tranquility Partners LLC now owns 4,354 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $850,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Connections by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 14,247 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,445,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.