Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Stock Price Up 0.4%

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)’s share price rose 0.4% during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $165.42 and last traded at $165.27. Approximately 153,298 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 82% from the average daily volume of 875,706 shares. The stock had previously closed at $164.68.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WCN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Waste Connections from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Scotiabank increased their price objective on Waste Connections from $146.50 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price objective on Waste Connections from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Atb Cap Markets downgraded Waste Connections from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price target on Waste Connections from $136.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $178.87.

Waste Connections Price Performance

The stock has a market cap of $42.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.66. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $167.84 and a 200-day simple moving average of $151.05. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.

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 for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 14.42% and a net margin of 9.51%. The company’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.85 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 28th were given a dividend of $0.285 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Andrea E. Bertone sold 902 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.17, for a total transaction of $152,591.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Connections

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Waste Connections by 116.2% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Headinvest LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the third quarter worth $36,000. Operose Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the third quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Rational Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the third quarter worth $41,000. Institutional investors 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.