Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Price Target Raised to $196.00 at Citigroup

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) had its price objective hoisted by Citigroup from $195.00 to $196.00 in a research note released on Monday morning,BayStreet.CA reports. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $197.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. CIBC decreased their price target on Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.75.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

NYSE:WCN opened at $176.53 on Monday. 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 has a fifty-two week low of $145.35 and a fifty-two week high of $194.83. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $181.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $180.81. The stock has a market cap of $45.56 billion, a PE ratio of 48.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.76.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 10.81%. Waste Connections’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.17 earnings per share. Analysts expect that Waste Connections will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.315 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. This is an increase from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.62%.

Institutional Trading of Waste Connections

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Versor Investments LP raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 75.1% in the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 8,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,470,000 after purchasing an additional 3,527 shares in the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at about $552,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in Waste Connections during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,503,000. Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in Waste Connections by 34.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 303,040 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,190,000 after buying an additional 77,466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 65.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,034 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $543,000 after acquiring an additional 1,202 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Connections Company Profile

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.