Citigroup Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Stock

Key Points

• Citigroup raised its price target on Waste Connections to $182 from $180, implying about 6.8% upside from the prior close, while keeping a neutral rating.
• Overall Wall Street sentiment remains constructive: the stock has a Moderate Buy consensus with an average target price of $202.79, and several firms such as Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan, and BMO have issued bullish targets.
• Waste Connections recently beat quarterly EPS estimates, reporting $1.23 per share versus $1.19 expected, and revenue rose 6.4% year over year even though it missed revenue estimates.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) had its price target raised by investment analysts at Citigroup from $180.00 to $182.00 in a report issued on Thursday,BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the business services provider's stock. Citigroup's target price points to a potential upside of 6.82% from the company's previous close.

A number of other analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Waste Connections from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $211.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $208.00 target price (up from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, March 13th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $199.00 price objective for the company. Three 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, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $202.79.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WCN traded down $1.19 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $170.38. The stock had a trading volume of 583,802 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,675,053. The firm has a market cap of $43.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.57, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.49. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $157.99 and a 200-day moving average of $163.74. Waste Connections has a fifty-two week low of $146.89 and a fifty-two week high of $191.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.23 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 16.49% and a net margin of 10.97%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Waste Connections will post 5.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Connections

In other news, SVP Eric Hansen sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.82, for a total transaction of $988,920.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,200,347. This represents a 31.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP James Little sold 2,605 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.98, for a total value of $427,167.90. Following the sale, the vice president owned 34,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,640,092.10. This trade represents a 7.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 17,605 shares of company stock worth $2,822,923 over the last three months. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Connections

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WCN. LifeGoal Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the second quarter valued at approximately $274,000. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab increased its stake in Waste Connections by 2.7% during the 2nd quarter. PensionDanmark Pensionsforsikringsaktieselskab now owns 49,068 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $8,176,000 after buying an additional 1,280 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its stake in Waste Connections by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 99,808 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $16,637,000 after purchasing an additional 1,601 shares during the last quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 12.3% in the 2nd quarter. Mechanics Bank Trust Department now owns 1,960 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $327,000 after purchasing an additional 215 shares during the period. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,030 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $838,000 after acquiring an additional 99 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Waste Connections

Waste Connections NYSE: WCN is a North American integrated waste services company that provides a range of solid waste and environmental services to municipal, commercial, industrial and residential customers. The company offers collection, transportation, transfer, disposal and recycling services, and operates an extensive network of transfer stations and disposal facilities. Waste Connections positions itself as a provider of infrastructure-driven waste solutions across many regions of the United States and Canada.

The company's operating activities include routine curbside and commercial collection, roll-off and container services, operation of landfills and transfer stations, and recycling and resource recovery programs.

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