Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Price Target Increased to $186.00 by Analysts at BMO Capital Markets

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) had its price objective raised by BMO Capital Markets from $182.00 to $186.00 in a research note released on Friday, Benzinga reports. BMO Capital Markets currently has an outperform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on WCN. Citigroup boosted their target price on Waste Connections from $136.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Waste Connections from $153.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. UBS Group lowered Waste Connections from a buy rating to a neutral rating and boosted their target price for the company from $170.00 to $181.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Waste Connections from $195.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Waste Connections from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $179.33.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Connections stock opened at $163.48 on Friday. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $168.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $152.30. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.18 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.08, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.66. Waste Connections has a 12 month low of $126.12 and a 12 month high of $173.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

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

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Andrea E. Bertone sold 902 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.17, for a total transaction of $152,591.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Connections

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WCN. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 4th quarter worth about $592,392,000. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in Waste Connections by 20.5% during the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 11,294,922 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,516,908,000 after acquiring an additional 1,920,302 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Waste Connections by 43.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,364,071 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $651,427,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320,933 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its holdings in Waste Connections by 57.7% during the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 3,500,718 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $522,988,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281,418 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Connections by 235.5% during the 4th quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,153,882 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $172,240,000 after acquiring an additional 809,914 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.