Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Upgraded to “Hold” by Eight Capital

Eight Capital upgraded shares of Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) to a hold rating in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday morning, Zacks.com reports.

Several other equities research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $181.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Waste Connections from $195.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Truist Financial upped their price target on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. CIBC lifted their price objective on Waste Connections from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an outperformer rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $191.53.

Waste Connections Trading Up 0.9 %

Shares of WCN opened at $181.40 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.70. Waste Connections has a 52-week low of $126.12 and a 52-week high of $187.54. The firm has a market cap of $46.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 54.31, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.72. The business’s fifty day moving average is $181.78 and its 200-day moving average is $174.38.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.07. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.23% and a return on equity of 15.16%. The company had revenue of $2.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.02 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Waste Connections will post 4.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th were given a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 7th. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is presently 34.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Connections news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.15, for a total transaction of $180,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $778,428.15. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Waste Connections news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.15, for a total value of $180,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $778,428.15. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total transaction of $2,902,215.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 48,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,706,466.95. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 21,600 shares of company stock worth $3,842,550 in the last quarter. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Connections

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. V Square Quantitative Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $85,000. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the 4th quarter valued at $1,005,000. Integrated Advisors Network LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth $215,000. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 43.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,364,071 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $651,427,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320,933 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wahed Invest LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Connections by 10.2% during the fourth quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 2,054 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $308,000 after purchasing an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.