Wolfe Research Reaffirms “Outperform” Rating for Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN)

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reissued by analysts at Wolfe Research in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $204.00 target price on the business services provider’s stock. Wolfe Research’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 26.59% from the company’s current price.

WCN has been the subject of several other research reports. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $176.00 price target (up from $170.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, August 7th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $199.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.16.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of WCN opened at $161.15 on Tuesday. Waste Connections has a 12 month low of $146.89 and a 12 month high of $179.74. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $167.27 and a 200-day moving average price of $162.99. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market cap of $40.54 billion, a PE ratio of 38.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.48.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.15. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 10.86%.The firm had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts predict that Waste Connections will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Robert Cloninger sold 2,811 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.02, for a total transaction of $480,737.22. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,995,119.32. The trade was a 19.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,500 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.57, for a total value of $416,425.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $122,262.38. This trade represents a 77.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Waste Connections

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Group One Trading LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the second quarter worth $30,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Connections by 1,166.7% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new stake in Waste Connections in the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth about $37,000. Finally, Western Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Connections during the 1st quarter worth about $41,000. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Waste Connections

Waste Connections, Inc is an integrated solid waste services company that provides collection, transfer, disposal, recycling and resource-recovery services across the United States and Canada. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers through a network of collection operations, transfer stations, landfills and recycling facilities.

Its services include curbside and containerized waste collection, construction and demolition debris management, recycling, landfill disposal, and the management of non-hazardous oilfield waste.