Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Coverage Initiated at Wells Fargo & Company

Equities researchers at Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on shares of Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage set an “overweight” rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Other equities research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Wednesday. They set an “outperform” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. Barclays reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $221.00 to $219.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. UBS Group set a $195.00 price target on Waste Connections and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, National Bankshares decreased their price target on Waste Connections from $211.00 to $196.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $208.67.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Waste Connections stock traded up $1.37 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $168.76. The company had a trading volume of 1,584,412 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,149,407. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $172.38 and a 200 day simple moving average of $182.65. The company has a market cap of $43.21 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.60. Waste Connections has a fifty-two week low of $163.27 and a fifty-two week high of $201.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Edward E. Guillet sold 9,000 shares of the firm’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 transaction of $1,569,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 14,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,596,190.52. This trade represents a 37.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Connections

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 1,505.8% during the third quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 116,551 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $20,490,000 after purchasing an additional 109,293 shares during the period. Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 17.2% during the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 9,940 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,748,000 after acquiring an additional 1,460 shares in the last quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 33.6% during the third quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 181,597 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,840,000 after acquiring an additional 45,647 shares in the last quarter. Credit Agricole S A acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the third quarter worth approximately $1,048,000. Finally, Amundi lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 19.2% in the 3rd quarter. Amundi now owns 573,855 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $100,174,000 after purchasing an additional 92,254 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.