Wolfe Research Reaffirms "Outperform" Rating for Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN)

Key Points

• Wolfe Research reaffirmed its “Outperform” rating on Waste Connections and set a $204 price target, implying 26.59% upside from the prior close. Analysts overall rate the stock “Moderate Buy,” with an average target of $201.16.
• Waste Connections exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.50 in EPS versus $1.35 expected and $2.56 billion in revenue, up 6.4% year over year.
• The stock opened at $161.15, while institutional investors owned 86.09% of shares. Two senior vice presidents recently sold company stock, and insider ownership stands at 0.27%.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating reissued by analysts at Wolfe Research in a report released on Tuesday, Benzinga reports. They presently have a $204.00 price target on the business services provider's stock. Wolfe Research's price objective would suggest a potential upside of 26.59% from the stock's previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently weighed in on WCN. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, August 7th. UBS Group reissued a "neutral" rating and issued a $176.00 target price (up from $170.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $201.16.

Waste Connections Stock Up 0.9%

WCN opened at $161.15 on Tuesday. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $167.27 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $162.99. The company has a market capitalization of $40.54 billion, a PE ratio of 38.83, a PEG ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.48. Waste Connections has a 1-year low of $146.89 and a 1-year high of $179.74. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 10.86%.Waste Connections's revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.29 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Waste Connections will post 5.62 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Connections

In related news, SVP Robert Cloninger sold 2,811 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.02, for a total transaction of $480,737.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,995,119.32. This represents a 19.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.57, for a total transaction of $416,425.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 734 shares of the company's stock, valued at $122,262.38. The trade was a 77.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Connections

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 17,242.8% in the second quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 48,936,350 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $8,157,200,000 after purchasing an additional 48,654,179 shares in the last quarter. XXEC Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the second quarter valued at about $164,870,000. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,061,947,000. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the 4th quarter valued at about $697,519,000. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $589,671,000. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Waste Connections

Waste Connections, Inc is an integrated solid waste services company that provides collection, transfer, disposal, recycling and resource-recovery services across the United States and Canada. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers through a network of collection operations, transfer stations, landfills and recycling facilities.

Its services include curbside and containerized waste collection, construction and demolition debris management, recycling, landfill disposal, and the management of non-hazardous oilfield waste.

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