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

Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) have received an average recommendation of “Buy” from the twenty-two analysts that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fourteen have given a buy recommendation and four have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $203.75.

Several research firms recently commented on WCN. UBS Group set a $205.00 target price on Waste Connections in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Barclays set a $176.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $202.00 target price on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus set a $213.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley set a $205.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Connections

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 1st quarter worth about $577,000. Arkadios Wealth Advisors increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 10.0% in the second quarter. Arkadios Wealth Advisors now owns 1,613 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $301,000 after acquiring an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 84.2% in the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,413 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $264,000 after acquiring an additional 646 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 8,016 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,497,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its position in Waste Connections by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 99,749 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $18,617,000 after purchasing an additional 3,714 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Connections Stock Up 0.5%

Waste Connections stock opened at $170.75 on Friday. Waste Connections has a fifty-two week low of $155.65 and a fifty-two week high of $201.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.95, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.62. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $168.68 and its two-hundred day moving average is $172.65. 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 issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Waste Connections had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.25%. The firm had revenue of $2.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.16 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Waste Connections will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.57%.

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.