Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Price Target Raised to $207.00

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) had its price target increased by Scotiabank from $192.00 to $207.00 in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Scotiabank currently has a sector perform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other brokerages have also commented on WCN. StockNews.com lowered Waste Connections from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $218.00 to $209.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. CIBC cut their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.43.

Waste Connections Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:WCN opened at $191.90 on Tuesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $49.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.67. Waste Connections has a 12 month low of $160.34 and a 12 month high of $201.66. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $189.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $183.62.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.04). Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 15.54%. As a group, research analysts forecast that Waste Connections will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.72%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Connections

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WCN. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Connections by 307.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,927,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $344,615,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453,733 shares during the last quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP lifted its position in Waste Connections by 18.0% during the 3rd quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 6,922 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,238,000 after buying an additional 1,058 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 2.9% during the 3rd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,763,491 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $315,347,000 after buying an additional 49,773 shares during the last quarter. MML Investors Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. MML Investors Services LLC now owns 51,162 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,149,000 after acquiring an additional 350 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at about $721,000. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.