Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Sets New 52-Week High at $173.03

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) shares hit a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $173.03 and last traded at $172.75, with a volume of 20765 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.69.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WCN shares. StockNews.com raised Waste Connections from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $171.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $166.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. UBS Group lowered Waste Connections from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $170.00 to $181.00 in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Waste Connections from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Connections has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $175.82.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $44.46 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.00, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $163.02 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $147.51.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.04 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 9.51% and a return on equity of 14.42%. Waste Connections’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. As a group, analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.285 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Andrea E. Bertone sold 902 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.17, for a total value of $152,591.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.35% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 1.3% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,410,846 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,240,887,000 after acquiring an additional 356,695 shares during the period. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Waste Connections by 20.5% in the 3rd quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 11,294,922 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,516,908,000 after buying an additional 1,920,302 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Connections by 12.8% during the 3rd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 10,218,545 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,378,788,000 after buying an additional 1,157,470 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 19.8% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 6,473,247 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $966,263,000 after purchasing an additional 1,071,269 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 5,715,923 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $856,641,000 after purchasing an additional 509,929 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

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.