Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Analysts

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eighteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat.com reports. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, twelve have issued a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $199.69.

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on WCN shares. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Waste Connections from $206.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th.

Waste Connections Stock Up 0.6 %

WCN opened at $170.93 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $44.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 46.96, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.74. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $181.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $180.71. Waste Connections has a 52 week low of $145.35 and a 52 week high of $194.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.81% and a return on equity of 15.43%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.17 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Connections will post 4.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th were paid a dividend of $0.315 per share. This is an increase from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.74%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is 34.62%.

Institutional Trading of Waste Connections

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 58.0% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 226 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Asset Dedication LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at $41,000. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter valued at $47,000. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.