Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) have earned a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $201.00.

WCN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. StockNews.com cut Waste Connections from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on Waste Connections from $196.00 to $192.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price objective on Waste Connections from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th.

Waste Connections Stock Down 0.2 %

WCN opened at $187.41 on Monday. Waste Connections has a fifty-two week low of $160.34 and a fifty-two week high of $194.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $179.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $182.03. The company has a market capitalization of $48.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.77.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.04). Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 6.92%. On average, analysts anticipate that Waste Connections will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is 52.72%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Connections

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Fifth Third Bancorp grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 705 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 14,247 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,445,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 41.4% during the 4th quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 222 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 59.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 36.3% during the 4th quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 308 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

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.