Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Given Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus on Waste Connections, with 15 buy, two strong-buy, and three hold ratings. The average 12-month price target is $202.42, above the stock’s reported $155.46 opening price.
• Waste Connections exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.50 EPS versus the $1.35 consensus and $2.56 billion in revenue, up 6.4% year over year.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, equating to a $1.40 annualized dividend and a 0.9% yield; institutional investors own 86.09% of the stock.

Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) have earned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fifteen have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among analysts that have covered the stock in the last year is $202.4211.

Several analysts have recently commented on the company. Barclays increased their target price on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $199.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 13th.

Waste Connections Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of WCN opened at $155.46 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $39.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.46, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.66. Waste Connections has a one year low of $146.89 and a one year high of $179.74. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $165.76 and its 200-day simple moving average is $162.49.

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

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 6th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 6th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is 33.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Robert Cloninger sold 2,811 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.02, for a total value of $480,737.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,666 shares in the company, valued at $1,995,119.32. The trade was a 19.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.57, for a total value of $416,425.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $122,262.38. This represents a 77.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Evolve Private Wealth LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the second quarter worth $1,022,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the second quarter worth $12,398,000. Fideuram Asset Management Ireland dac bought a new stake in Waste Connections in the 4th quarter valued at $646,000. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Waste Connections by 68.1% in the 2nd quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 15,966 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,661,000 after acquiring an additional 6,470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Focus Partners Advisor Solutions LLC bought a new stake in Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,315,000. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Connections Company Profile

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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