Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) have been assigned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the twenty-three ratings firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fifteen have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $203.5238.

WCN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. UBS Group set a $205.00 price target on Waste Connections in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $213.00 price objective on Waste Connections and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Barclays set a $176.00 price objective on Waste Connections and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 target price (down from $219.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Tuesday, February 17th.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WCN opened at $161.90 on Tuesday. 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 has a one year low of $154.90 and a one year high of $201.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.83, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.62. The company’s fifty day moving average is $166.25 and its two-hundred day moving average is $170.30.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (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 business had revenue of $2.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.16 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Waste Connections will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is 33.57%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Connections

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings 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 valued at $5,552,682,000 after purchasing an additional 717,440 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in shares of Waste Connections by 28.2% during the 4th 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 last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Waste Connections by 17.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 6,136,218 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,078,536,000 after purchasing an additional 918,245 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 37.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,763,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $835,370,000 after buying an additional 1,289,042 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP lifted its stake 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 in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Connections Company Profile

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.