Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen analysts that are covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have given a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $199.69.

WCN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. CIBC cut their price objective on Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Eight Capital upgraded shares of Waste Connections to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Connections

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WCN. Versor Investments LP lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 75.1% in the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 8,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,470,000 after purchasing an additional 3,527 shares during the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at approximately $552,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at approximately $2,503,000. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 34.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 303,040 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,190,000 after acquiring an additional 77,466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 65.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,034 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $543,000 after acquiring an additional 1,202 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Trading Up 2.0 %

Shares of WCN stock opened at $175.93 on Friday. Waste Connections has a 1-year low of $145.35 and a 1-year high of $194.83. The firm has a market cap of $45.40 billion, a PE ratio of 48.33, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a 50-day moving average of $181.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $180.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.81% and a return on equity of 15.43%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.17 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Waste Connections will post 4.84 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. This is an increase from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.62%.

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.