Waste Connections (WCN) – Analysts’ Weekly Ratings Changes

A number of firms have modified their ratings and price targets on shares of Waste Connections (NYSE: WCN) recently:

• 7/29/2024 – Waste Connections had its price target raised by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $175.00 to $198.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
• 7/26/2024 – Waste Connections had its price target raised by analysts at CIBC from $191.00 to $193.00. They now have an “outperformer” rating on the stock.
• 7/26/2024 – Waste Connections had its price target raised by analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $196.00 to $198.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
• 7/26/2024 – Waste Connections had its price target raised by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $195.00 to $199.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
• 7/26/2024 – Waste Connections had its price target raised by analysts at TD Cowen from $185.00 to $200.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 7/22/2024 – Waste Connections had its price target raised by analysts at Raymond James from $190.00 to $207.00. They now have a “strong-buy” rating on the stock.
• 7/15/2024 – Waste Connections had its price target raised by analysts at Oppenheimer Holdings Inc. from $181.00 to $191.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
• 7/11/2024 – Waste Connections had its price target raised by analysts at Truist Financial Co. from $180.00 to $200.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 7/3/2024 – Waste Connections had its price target raised by analysts at CIBC from $181.00 to $191.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.

Waste Connections Price Performance

WCN traded up $0.37 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $180.36. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 556,341 shares, compared to its average volume of 909,845. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12 month low of $126.12 and a 12 month high of $182.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $175.75 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $169.10.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.22 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.23% and a return on equity of 15.16%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.02 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th will be issued a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 7th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.00, for a total transaction of $169,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $899,249. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.00, for a total value of $169,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $899,249. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Susan Netherton sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.13, for a total transaction of $358,260.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,805,272.14. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 22,600 shares of company stock worth $4,011,550 in the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Connections

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WCN. First Affirmative Financial Network grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 1,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 0.8% during the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 8,844 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,321,000 after buying an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 8.8% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 916 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $161,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 5,966 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,047,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 2.7% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,182 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $475,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

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.