Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Receives $207.74 Consensus PT from Analysts

Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) have been given an average rating of “Buy” by the twenty-four analysts that are covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have issued a hold rating, fifteen have assigned a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $206.7368.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on WCN shares. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $220.00 target price (up from $215.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Wednesday, October 8th. UBS Group set a $205.00 target price on Waste Connections in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Raymond James Financial set a $213.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Scotiabank reduced their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $210.00 to $204.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Connections news, Director Edward E. Guillet sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.44, for a total transaction of $1,569,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 14,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,596,190.52. This represents a 37.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Addenda Capital Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 4.9% during the fourth quarter. Addenda Capital Inc. now owns 220,427 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,654,000 after buying an additional 10,377 shares in the last quarter. Greenleaf Trust acquired a new position in Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth approximately $406,000. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. Palumbo Wealth Management LLC now owns 6,304 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,107,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 1.2% in the fourth quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 669,442 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $117,394,000 after purchasing an additional 7,866 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Signaturefd LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 9.6% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 3,199 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $561,000 after purchasing an additional 280 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Connections Stock Up 1.4%

Shares of NYSE:WCN opened at $166.50 on Thursday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $172.55 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $176.44. 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 has a market capitalization of $42.57 billion, a PE ratio of 69.37, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.63. Waste Connections has a 52 week low of $162.06 and a 52 week high of $201.66.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.65% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.35 EPS. Analysts forecast that Waste Connections will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Company Profile

Waste Connections (NYSE: WCN) is a North American integrated waste services company that provides a range of solid waste and environmental services to municipal, commercial, industrial and residential customers. The company offers collection, transportation, transfer, disposal and recycling services, and operates an extensive network of transfer stations and disposal facilities. Waste Connections positions itself as a provider of infrastructure-driven waste solutions across many regions of the United States and Canada.

The company’s operating activities include routine curbside and commercial collection, roll-off and container services, operation of landfills and transfer stations, and recycling and resource recovery programs.