Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Upgraded at StockNews.com

StockNews.com upgraded shares of Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note released on Saturday.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the company. CIBC lifted their price objective on Waste Connections from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $146.50 to $179.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Waste Connections from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, Atb Cap Markets downgraded shares of Waste Connections from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Five equities research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $179.33.

Waste Connections Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE WCN opened at $165.19 on Friday. Waste Connections has a one year low of $126.12 and a one year high of $173.02. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $167.35 and its 200-day moving average price is $156.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.62 billion, a PE ratio of 53.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

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

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm 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 is Tuesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.01%.

Insider Activity at Waste Connections

In other Waste Connections news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 2,000 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.00, for a total value of $332,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,049,286. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 2,000 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.00, for a total transaction of $332,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,321 shares in the company, valued at $1,049,286. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Andrea E. Bertone sold 902 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.17, for a total transaction of $152,591.34. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 4,402 shares of company stock valued at $735,976 over the last ninety days. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 116.2% in the first 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 period. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Waste Connections during the 1st quarter valued at $32,000. Headinvest LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Finally, Operose Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Hedge funds and other 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.