Waste Connections (TSE:WCN) Reaches New 52-Week Low – Should You Sell?

Waste Connections, Inc. (TSE:WCN)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as C$203.46 and last traded at C$207.05, with a volume of 235213 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at C$205.74.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Separately, Wolfe Research upgraded shares of Waste Connections to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, March 13th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating and one has assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Connections presently has a consensus rating of “Strong Buy”.

Waste Connections Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 117.10, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a current ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of C$52.61 billion, a PE ratio of 50.50, a P/E/G ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.50. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is C$218.32 and its 200-day simple moving average is C$228.82.

Waste Connections (TSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The company reported C$1.71 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter. The company had revenue of C$3.30 billion for the quarter. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.98% and a return on equity of 12.83%. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 9.9808652 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Ronald J. Mittelstaedt bought 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were acquired at an average price of C$209.38 per share, with a total value of C$10,469,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the director directly owned 301,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$63,026,939.46. The trade was a 19.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. Also, insider Robert Andres Nielsen sold 500 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$213.96, for a total transaction of C$106,980.00. Following the completion of the sale, the insider directly owned 4,250 shares in the company, valued at approximately C$909,330. The trade was a 10.53% decrease in their position. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 1,127 shares of company stock worth $238,128. Insiders own 0.21% of the company’s stock.

About Waste Connections

Waste Connections is the third- largest integrated provider of traditional solid waste and recycling services in the North America, operating 91 active landfills (12 are E&P waste landfills), 132 transfer stations, and 68 recycling operations. The firm serves residential, commercial, industrial, and energy end markets. Waste Connections entered the Canadian market with its 2016 merger with Progressive Waste. In 2020, 13% of consolidated revenue was generated from the firm’s Canadian segment.