Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Hits New 12-Month Low – Here’s Why

Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) reached a new 52-week low during trading on Monday . The company traded as low as $163.90 and last traded at $164.3330, with a volume of 81112 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.18.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts recently commented on WCN shares. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $205.00 to $206.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus decreased their price target on Waste Connections from $221.00 to $218.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Raymond James Financial set a $213.00 price objective on Waste Connections and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Barclays reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $210.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.63.

Waste Connections Price Performance

The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market cap of $42.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.77, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $173.80 and a 200-day simple moving average of $183.44.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 6.65%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.35 EPS. Waste Connections has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 5th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 5th. This is a positive change from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Edward E. Guillet sold 9,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.44, for a total transaction of $1,569,960.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 14,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,596,190.52. This represents a 37.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Connections

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. MWA Asset Management increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 1.2% during the first quarter. MWA Asset Management now owns 4,783 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $934,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 2.1% during the second quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 2,949 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $551,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 0.8% during the third quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 7,895 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,388,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 6.0% in the 1st quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,116 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $218,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Waste Connections by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,052 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $757,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Connections Company Profile

Waste Connections, Inc provides non-hazardous waste collection, transfer, disposal, and resource recovery services in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services to residential, commercial, municipal, industrial, and exploration and production (E&P) customers; landfill disposal services; and recycling services for various recyclable materials, including compost, cardboard, mixed paper, plastic containers, glass bottles, and ferrous and aluminum metals.