Waste Connections, Inc. Declares Quarterly Dividend of $0.35 (NYSE:WCN)

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 6th will be given a dividend of 0.35 per share by the business services provider on Thursday, August 20th. This represents a c) dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 6th.

Waste Connections has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend every year for the last 8 years. Waste Connections has a payout ratio of 23.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Waste Connections to earn $6.20 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 22.6%.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WCN opened at $167.91 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $42.37 billion, a PE ratio of 40.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.49. Waste Connections has a 1 year low of $146.89 and a 1 year high of $191.91. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $160.84 and a 200-day moving average price of $163.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.15. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.97% and a return on equity of 16.49%. The company had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.29 EPS. Waste Connections’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts anticipate that Waste Connections will post 5.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages have recently commented on WCN. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $211.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays set a $180.00 target price on Waste Connections and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $218.00 price target (up from $210.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings downgraded Waste Connections from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.00.

About Waste Connections

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.