StockNews.com Downgrades Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) to Hold

StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Wednesday.

A number of other research firms have also weighed in on WCN. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Atb Cap Markets lowered shares of Waste Connections from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $153.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $146.50 to $179.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $179.33.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Waste Connections stock opened at $162.08 on Wednesday. The company has a market capitalization of $41.82 billion, a PE ratio of 52.62, a P/E/G ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.66. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $167.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $152.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Waste Connections has a twelve month low of $126.12 and a twelve month high of $173.02.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.05 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 14.66%. Waste Connections’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Waste Connections will post 4.84 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be issued a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 7th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Andrea E. Bertone sold 902 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.17, for a total value of $152,591.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Connections

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 26,254 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,526,000 after acquiring an additional 856 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 8,771 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,178,000 after acquiring an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 3,847 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $519,000 after acquiring an additional 474 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 403,972 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,253,000 after acquiring an additional 31,709 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 85,032 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,420,000 after acquiring an additional 4,509 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

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.