Wolfe Research Initiates Coverage on Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN)

Investment analysts at Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) in a report released on Friday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage set an “outperform” rating and a $199.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock. Wolfe Research’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 19.51% from the company’s current price.

Other equities analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce set a $208.00 price target on Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price target (down from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. UBS Group set a $205.00 price objective on Waste Connections in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Scotiabank set a $197.00 price objective on Waste Connections and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $203.52.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of WCN stock opened at $166.51 on Friday. Waste Connections has a 52 week low of $155.65 and a 52 week high of $201.66. The company has a market capitalization of $42.57 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.93, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $167.64 and a 200 day simple moving average of $171.85. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.37 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.25%. The business’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Connections will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Connections

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 2.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,585,284 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,552,682,000 after purchasing an additional 717,440 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Waste Connections by 28.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,468,259 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,134,781,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420,921 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in Waste Connections by 17.6% during the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 6,136,218 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,078,536,000 after buying an additional 918,245 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Waste Connections by 37.1% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,763,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $835,370,000 after buying an additional 1,289,042 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 5.0% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,675,737 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $819,939,000 after buying an additional 220,575 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Waste Connections

Waste Connections (NYSE: WCN) is a North American integrated waste services company that provides a range of solid waste and environmental services to municipal, commercial, industrial and residential customers. The company offers collection, transportation, transfer, disposal and recycling services, and operates an extensive network of transfer stations and disposal facilities. Waste Connections positions itself as a provider of infrastructure-driven waste solutions across many regions of the United States and Canada.

The company’s operating activities include routine curbside and commercial collection, roll-off and container services, operation of landfills and transfer stations, and recycling and resource recovery programs.