Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Sets New 12-Month Low – Here’s What Happened

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $164.37 and last traded at $165.67, with a volume of 1241819 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $167.68.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $221.00 to $218.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $199.00 to $196.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. National Bankshares lowered their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $211.00 to $196.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $205.00 to $206.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, CIBC reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.63.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

The stock has a market cap of $42.42 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.03, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $175.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $184.28.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.06. Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.65% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.35 EPS. Waste Connections’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Waste Connections has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 5th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 5th. This is an increase from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is presently 58.33%.

Insider Activity at Waste Connections

In related news, Director Edward E. Guillet sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.44, for a total value of $1,569,960.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 14,883 shares in the company, valued at $2,596,190.52. The trade was a 37.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the second quarter valued at approximately $755,938,000. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the first quarter valued at approximately $623,155,000. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Waste Connections by 3.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,247,244 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,901,049,000 after purchasing an additional 954,242 shares in the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec grew its position in Waste Connections by 195.0% during the first quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,153,530 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $224,961,000 after purchasing an additional 762,468 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Picton Mahoney Asset Management purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the second quarter valued at approximately $140,935,000. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.