Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Hits New 12-Month High on Analyst Upgrade

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) hit a new 52-week high on Wednesday after CIBC raised their price target on the stock from $181.00 to $191.00. CIBC currently has an outperform rating on the stock. Waste Connections traded as high as $177.53 and last traded at $177.32, with a volume of 328665 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $175.06.

WCN has been the topic of several other reports. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Waste Connections from $196.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $189.00 target price on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on Waste Connections from $182.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. StockNews.com upgraded Waste Connections from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their target price on Waste Connections from $195.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Connections presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.69.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Michael W. Harlan sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.59, for a total value of $251,385.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,341,390.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, Director Michael W. Harlan sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.59, for a total value of $251,385.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,004 shares in the company, valued at $1,341,390.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.00, for a total value of $332,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,049,286. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 4,500 shares of company stock valued at $752,385. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Connections

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 116.2% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the period. Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the first quarter worth about $32,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the first quarter worth about $43,000. Finally, Headinvest LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The company has a 50 day moving average of $167.53 and a 200 day moving average of $162.93. The firm has a market cap of $45.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.64, a PEG ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.02. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 9.70%. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th were paid a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, May 7th. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is currently 37.01%.

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.