Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Buy” by the nineteen analysts that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $215.00.

Several research analysts recently issued reports on WCN shares. Raymond James Financial reduced their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $224.00 to $211.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Truist Financial set a $220.00 price target on Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Waste Connections from $216.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. National Bank Financial upgraded Waste Connections to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, May 26th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Waste Connections from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Connections

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Townsquare Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 60.6% during the 4th quarter. Townsquare Capital LLC now owns 3,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $553,000 after buying an additional 1,216 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in Waste Connections by 5.1% in the fourth quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 8,569 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,470,000 after acquiring an additional 414 shares during the period. Marshall Wace LLP grew its position in Waste Connections by 315.7% in the fourth quarter. Marshall Wace LLP now owns 65,321 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,208,000 after acquiring an additional 49,609 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its stake in Waste Connections by 41.8% during the fourth quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 19,944 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,420,000 after acquiring an additional 5,882 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP raised its position in Waste Connections by 9.0% in the fourth quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 432,597 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $74,224,000 after purchasing an additional 35,689 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of WCN opened at $184.78 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $185.91 and a two-hundred day moving average of $189.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Waste Connections has a twelve month low of $169.36 and a twelve month high of $201.66. The company has a market cap of $47.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.58.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.04. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 6.97%. The business had revenue of $2.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.24 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Waste Connections will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 6th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 50.81%.

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.