Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Issues Earnings Results

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday. The business services provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.06, Zacks reports. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.97% and a return on equity of 15.72%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.35 earnings per share. Waste Connections updated its FY 2025 guidance to EPS.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

NYSE:WCN opened at $173.55 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.98, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.62. The company’s 50-day moving average is $177.42 and its two-hundred day moving average is $185.59. Waste Connections has a 1-year low of $169.36 and a 1-year high of $201.66.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 5th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 5th. This is a positive change from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of analysts have recently commented on WCN shares. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $221.00 target price for the company. Barclays started coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, September 19th. They set an “equal weight” rating and a $192.00 target price for the company. Oppenheimer cut their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $210.00 to $205.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $204.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Connections presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.38.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Connections

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WCN. Bank of America Corp DE increased its stake in Waste Connections by 7.7% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of America Corp DE now owns 3,038,786 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $567,402,000 after buying an additional 216,110 shares during the period. State Street Corp increased its stake in Waste Connections by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,808,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $337,708,000 after buying an additional 17,197 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Waste Connections by 35.2% during the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 276,598 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $51,645,000 after buying an additional 71,943 shares during the period. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury increased its stake in Waste Connections by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. State of Tennessee Department of Treasury now owns 259,765 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $48,461,000 after buying an additional 5,300 shares during the period. Finally, Invesco Ltd. increased its stake in Waste Connections by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 219,290 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,946,000 after buying an additional 24,948 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.