Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) PT Raised to $194.00 at Oppenheimer

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) had its price target lifted by Oppenheimer from $191.00 to $194.00 in a research note published on Monday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on WCN. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $196.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $194.19.

Waste Connections Stock Down 1.0 %

Shares of Waste Connections stock opened at $178.60 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $46.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.99, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.72. 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 one year low of $126.12 and a one year high of $187.54. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $182.16 and a two-hundred day moving average of $175.05.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.23% and a return on equity of 15.16%. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.17 EPS. Waste Connections’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Waste Connections will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.315 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. This is an increase from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is 37.01%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Connections

In related news, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total value of $2,902,215.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 48,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,706,466.95. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.15, for a total value of $180,150.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $778,428.15. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 48,899 shares in the company, valued at $8,706,466.95. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,600 shares of company stock worth $3,842,550 over the last ninety days. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Connections

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,498,983 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,902,110,000 after acquiring an additional 88,137 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can lifted its position in Waste Connections by 2.3% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 8,103,895 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,423,373,000 after buying an additional 178,870 shares in the last quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd lifted its position in Waste Connections by 8.3% during the first quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 2,516,867 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $432,926,000 after buying an additional 193,787 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp lifted its position in Waste Connections by 0.7% during the second quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 2,189,251 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $384,268,000 after buying an additional 15,623 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc lifted its position in Waste Connections by 4.4% during the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,690,733 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $296,510,000 after buying an additional 71,681 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is 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.