Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Coverage Initiated at The Goldman Sachs Group

Research analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) in a research note issued to investors on Monday, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm set a “buy” rating and a $202.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock. The Goldman Sachs Group’s target price would indicate a potential upside of 14.46% from the company’s previous close.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. Raymond James Financial set a $213.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $205.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays reaffirmed a “negative” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. They set an “overweight” rating and a $186.00 price target on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $208.32.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Waste Connections stock opened at $176.48 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $45.15 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 73.53, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $171.97 and a 200 day simple moving average of $181.30. Waste Connections has a 52 week low of $163.27 and a 52 week high of $201.66.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion for 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%.The company’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.35 EPS. Waste Connections has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Waste Connections will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Connections

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 value of $1,569,960.00. Following the transaction, the director owned 14,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,596,190.52. This trade represents a 37.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Connections

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. MWA Asset Management grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. MWA Asset Management now owns 4,783 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $934,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 2.1% during the second quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 2,949 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $551,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 0.8% in the third quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 7,895 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,388,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,116 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $218,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,052 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $757,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.