Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Price Target Cut to $195.00 by Analysts at Royal Bank of Canada

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) had its target price lowered by Royal Bank of Canada from $196.00 to $195.00 in a research report sent to investors on Friday, BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage currently has an outperform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Other equities analysts have also issued research reports about the company. UBS Group lowered Waste Connections from a buy rating to a neutral rating and increased their target price for the company from $170.00 to $181.00 in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Waste Connections from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. CIBC upped their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections currently has an average rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus price target of $179.33.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

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

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

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be given a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.70%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is currently 37.01%.

Insider Activity at Waste Connections

In related news, Director Andrea E. Bertone sold 902 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were 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 hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Connections

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Simplicity Solutions LLC lifted its position in Waste Connections by 114.2% in the fourth quarter. Simplicity Solutions LLC now owns 9,205 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,374,000 after purchasing an additional 4,907 shares during the period. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 51.6% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 220,327 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $32,895,000 after buying an additional 74,995 shares in the last quarter. Sycomore Asset Management increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 41.6% in the fourth quarter. Sycomore Asset Management now owns 37,826 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,646,000 after buying an additional 11,110 shares in the last quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 5.0% in the third quarter. New York State Common Retirement Fund now owns 214,346 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,787,000 after buying an additional 10,179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Alta Fox Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 42.1% in the third quarter. Alta Fox Capital Management LLC now owns 51,600 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,930,000 after buying an additional 15,300 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.