Brokerages Set Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Price Target at $202.84

Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-one analysts that are covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fourteen have given a buy recommendation and three have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $202.8421.

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WCN shares. Wolfe Research started coverage on Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, March 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $199.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $218.00 target price (up from $210.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $211.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays set a $180.00 target price on Waste Connections and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Waste Connections from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of WCN opened at $156.87 on Friday. Waste Connections has a 12 month low of $146.89 and a 12 month high of $191.91. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $157.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $164.80. 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 $39.80 billion, a PE ratio of 38.26, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.51.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 16.49% and a net margin of 10.97%.The firm had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts predict that Waste Connections will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Patrick James Shea sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.26, for a total value of $1,171,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 19,737 shares in the company, valued at $3,084,103.62. This trade represents a 27.54% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, VP James Little sold 2,605 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.98, for a total value of $427,167.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 34,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,640,092.10. This trade represents a 7.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 17,605 shares of company stock worth $2,822,923 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Connections

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Waste Connections by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,585,284 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,552,682,000 after purchasing an additional 717,440 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Waste Connections by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 12,210,661 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,983,500,000 after purchasing an additional 106,763 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its position in Waste Connections by 28.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,468,259 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,134,781,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420,921 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in Waste Connections by 17.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 6,136,218 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,078,536,000 after purchasing an additional 918,245 shares during the period. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its position in Waste Connections by 37.1% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,763,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $835,370,000 after purchasing an additional 1,289,042 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.