Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $198.61

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is favorable: Eighteen brokerages give Waste Connections a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, with an average 12-month price target of $198.61 versus a recent share price of $167.70.
• Quarterly results exceeded expectations: The company reported earnings of $1.50 per share versus the $1.35 consensus estimate, while revenue reached $2.56 billion and increased 6.4% year over year.
• Waste Connections pays a modest dividend: Its quarterly dividend of $0.35 represents an annualized payout of $1.40 and a yield of approximately 0.8%; institutional investors own 86.09% of the stock.

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) has been given a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" by the eighteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, fourteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $198.61.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on WCN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $180.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 8th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce set a $184.00 price target on Waste Connections and gave the company an "outperformer" rating in a report on Thursday, October 8th. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Waste Connections from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $189.00 price objective on Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, October 9th.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WCN opened at $167.70 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $42.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.41, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.49. Waste Connections has a 1-year low of $146.89 and a 1-year high of $179.74. The firm's 50 day simple moving average is $160.83 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $161.34. 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 (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.51 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.29 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Waste Connections will post 5.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Waste Connections's payout ratio is currently 33.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Connections news, SVP Robert Cloninger sold 2,811 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president directly owned 11,666 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,995,119.32. This trade represents a 19.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,500 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the senior vice president owned 734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $122,262.38. The trade was a 77.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 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 modified their holdings of WCN. USA Financial Formulas bought a new stake in Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter valued at $146,000. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 8.0% in the 3rd quarter. TD Waterhouse Canada Inc. now owns 927,997 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $139,046,000 after purchasing an additional 68,624 shares in the last quarter. Banque Pictet & Cie SA bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter valued at about $3,494,000. Triasima Portfolio Management inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,305,000. Finally, Formuepleje A S boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 12.3% during the 3rd quarter. Formuepleje A S now owns 37,662 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,797,000 after purchasing an additional 4,118 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

About Waste Connections

Waste Connections, Inc is a North American provider of solid waste collection, transfer, disposal, recycling and resource recovery services. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial and construction customers through local operations and provides services under municipal and other contracted arrangements.

Its business includes curbside and commercial waste collection, transfer stations, solid waste landfills, recycling facilities and organics processing. Waste Connections also provides environmental services for energy-producing customers, including the management and disposal of non-hazardous oilfield waste, and operates resource recovery and renewable energy projects in connection with certain waste facilities.

Founded in 1997, Waste Connections serves communities across the United States and Canada.

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