Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Plans Dividend Increase – $0.39 Per Share

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.3850 per share by the business services provider on Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 5th. This is a 10.0% increase from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35.

Waste Connections has increased its dividend by an average of 0.1% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 8 consecutive years. Waste Connections has a payout ratio of 23.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Waste Connections to earn $6.22 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 22.5%.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Waste Connections stock traded up $14.44 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $182.72. The company had a trading volume of 2,173,011 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,562,942. The stock’s 50-day simple moving average is $160.94 and its 200-day simple moving average is $161.42. Waste Connections has a 1 year low of $146.89 and a 1 year high of $183.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The company has a market capitalization of $45.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 44.02, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.49.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.60 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 10.86%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 23.8% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Waste Connections will post 5.65 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms have weighed in on WCN. Scotiabank set a $193.00 target price on Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, October 15th. UBS Group raised Waste Connections from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $176.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Raymond James Financial set a $189.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, October 9th. Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $205.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $204.00 target price for the company. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $198.61.

About Waste Connections

Waste Connections, Inc is a North American provider of solid waste collection, transfer, disposal and recycling services. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial and construction customers, offering scheduled and on-demand collection as well as waste management solutions tailored to municipalities and businesses.

Its operations include local collection fleets, transfer stations, recycling and resource-recovery facilities, and landfills. Waste Connections also provides non-hazardous oilfield waste services, including the collection, transportation, treatment and disposal of waste generated by energy-production activities.

Founded in 1997, Waste Connections has grown through a combination of internal development and acquisitions.