Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Given New $186.00 Price Target at BMO Capital Markets

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) had its price objective lifted by BMO Capital Markets from $182.00 to $186.00 in a research note released on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Citigroup upped their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $136.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada cut their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $196.00 to $195.00 and set an outperform rating on the stock in a research report on Friday. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $153.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $179.33.

Waste Connections Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of NYSE WCN opened at $163.53 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $168.22 and its 200 day simple moving average is $152.10. The company has a market cap of $42.19 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Waste Connections has a 12-month low of $126.12 and a 12-month high of $173.02.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.05 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Waste Connections will post 4.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.285 per share. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.01%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Connections

In other news, Director Andrea E. Bertone sold 902 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.17, for a total transaction of $152,591.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Connections

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. UMB Bank n.a. grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 58.5% in the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,152 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $155,000 after buying an additional 425 shares in the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 0.3% in the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 114,756 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,412,000 after buying an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. Carderock Capital Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 4.3% in the third quarter. Carderock Capital Management Inc. now owns 36,806 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,943,000 after buying an additional 1,529 shares in the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 3.4% in the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 26,254 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,526,000 after buying an additional 856 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 1.0% in the third quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 8,771 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,178,000 after buying an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Waste Connections

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.