Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Stock Price Expected to Rise, CIBC Analyst Says

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) had its price target upped by analysts at CIBC from $212.00 to $215.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, July 25th, Marketbeat.com reports. The brokerage currently has an “outperformer” rating on the business services provider’s stock. CIBC’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 15.20% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research firms have also issued reports on WCN. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $216.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Waste Connections to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $224.00 to $211.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.00.

Waste Connections Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of WCN stock traded down $0.03 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $186.64. 1,129,567 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,365,086. Waste Connections has a 1-year low of $169.36 and a 1-year high of $201.66. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $187.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $188.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.23 billion, a PE ratio of 75.26, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.58.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.04. Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.97% and a return on equity of 15.72%. The firm had revenue of $2.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.24 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Connections will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Connections

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. DAVENPORT & Co LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 37.3% in the first quarter. DAVENPORT & Co LLC now owns 1,796 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $350,000 after buying an additional 488 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in Waste Connections by 89.5% in the 1st quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 288 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 19.2% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,069 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,379,000 after purchasing an additional 1,137 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 41.0% in the 1st quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 19,710 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,843,000 after purchasing an additional 5,733 shares during the period. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 6.9% in the 1st quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 2,437,854 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $475,649,000 after purchasing an additional 157,472 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.