Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Announces Earnings Results

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN – Get Rating) released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday. The business services provider reported $0.82 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.83 by ($0.01), MarketWatch Earnings reports. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 12.23% and a net margin of 10.05%. The firm had revenue of $1.65 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.61 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.70 EPS. The company’s revenue was up 17.9% compared to the same quarter last year.

WCN opened at $133.95 on Wednesday. Waste Connections has a 1-year low of $115.75 and a 1-year high of $145.62. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $136.25 and its 200 day simple moving average is $132.25. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73. The stock has a market cap of $34.45 billion, a PE ratio of 56.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.72.

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 16th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, March 2nd were paid a dividend of $0.181 per share. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.54%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 1st. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 38.82%.

A number of research firms have weighed in on WCN. Scotiabank downgraded Waste Connections from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $135.00 price target for the company. in a research report on Thursday, April 7th. Raymond James upped their price target on Waste Connections from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, April 22nd. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Waste Connections from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 18th. StockNews.com began coverage on Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday, March 31st. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. started coverage on Waste Connections in a research report on Tuesday, March 1st. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $142.38.

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its stake in Waste Connections by 37.2% in the 4th quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 302,751 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,256,000 after acquiring an additional 82,160 shares during the period. Allianz Asset Management GmbH raised its stake in Waste Connections by 862.5% in the 4th quarter. Allianz Asset Management GmbH now owns 232,338 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,710,000 after acquiring an additional 208,198 shares during the period. Sei Investments Co. raised its stake in Waste Connections by 20.1% in the 4th quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 125,300 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $17,152,000 after acquiring an additional 20,957 shares during the period. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its stake in Waste Connections by 3.7% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 88,580 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $11,954,000 after acquiring an additional 3,192 shares during the period. Finally, Allstate Corp raised its stake in Waste Connections by 394.5% in the 4th quarter. Allstate Corp now owns 24,200 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,298,000 after acquiring an additional 19,306 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.70% of the company’s stock.

About Waste Connections (Get Rating)

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.

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