Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Reaches New 12-Month Low – What’s Next?

Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $150.25 and last traded at $151.0750, with a volume of 1445627 shares. The stock had previously closed at $151.82.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on WCN. Citigroup reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and issued a $183.00 price target (down from $196.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Barclays set a $180.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley set a $205.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $208.00 price target (up from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $203.35.

Waste Connections Stock Down 0.5%

The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market cap of $38.56 billion, a PE ratio of 36.85, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.55. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $163.01 and its 200 day simple moving average is $167.87.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.97% and a return on equity of 16.49%. The business had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 6th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.15%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Connections

In other news, VP James Little sold 2,605 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.98, for a total value of $427,167.90. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 34,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,640,092.10. This trade represents a 7.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Eric Hansen sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.82, for a total transaction of $988,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 13,350 shares in the company, valued at $2,200,347. This represents a 31.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Waste Connections

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WCN. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the 1st quarter valued at about $577,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 219,290 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,946,000 after buying an additional 24,948 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 24,463 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,572,000 after purchasing an additional 688 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,714,000. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,808,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $337,708,000 after purchasing an additional 17,197 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.