Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.05, Briefing.com reports. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.16% and a net margin of 10.23%. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Waste Connections updated its FY 2024 guidance to EPS.

Waste Connections Stock Down 1.5 %

Shares of WCN opened at $175.80 on Friday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $182.08 and a 200-day simple moving average of $175.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 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 52 week low of $126.12 and a 52 week high of $187.54.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a dividend of $0.315 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. This is a positive change from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on WCN shares. Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Truist Financial boosted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $195.56.

Insider Activity

In other news, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total transaction of $2,902,215.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 48,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,706,466.95. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 48,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,706,466.95. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.15, for a total transaction of $180,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $778,428.15. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,600 shares of company stock valued at $3,842,550. Insiders own 0.31% 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.