Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Given Average Recommendation of “Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) have received a consensus recommendation of “Buy” from the twenty-two ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have given a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $203.35.

Several research analysts recently commented on WCN shares. Morgan Stanley set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $213.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $208.00 price objective (up from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $212.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, March 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $199.00 target price on the stock.

Waste Connections Stock Up 0.0%

WCN opened at $155.77 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $160.36 and a 200 day moving average of $166.79. The company has a market cap of $39.76 billion, a PE ratio of 37.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.55. Waste Connections has a 12 month low of $148.84 and a 12 month high of $198.00. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.97% and a return on equity of 16.49%. Waste Connections’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Connections will post 5.5 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.15%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Connections news, SVP Eric Hansen sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.82, for a total value of $988,920.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,350 shares in the company, valued at $2,200,347. This represents a 31.01% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ronald J. Mittelstaedt bought 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was purchased at an average price of $152.24 per share, for a total transaction of $7,612,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 301,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,826,828.08. This represents a 19.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Waste Connections

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 2.3% in 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 in the last quarter. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 0.9% in 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 in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $1,134,781,000 after buying an additional 1,420,921 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $1,078,536,000 after buying an additional 918,245 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its position in shares of 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 valued at $835,370,000 after buying an additional 1,289,042 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.