Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Plans Dividend Increase - $0.39 Per Share

Key Points

• Waste Connections plans to raise its quarterly dividend by 10% to $0.385 per share, or $1.54 annualized, representing a 0.8% yield. The company has increased its dividend for eight consecutive years, with a payout ratio of 23.6%.
• Shares rose 9.0% to $183.45, near the company’s 52-week high, giving Waste Connections a market capitalization of approximately $46.04 billion.
• The company reported quarterly EPS of $1.58, exceeding analyst expectations of $1.52, while revenue reached $2.64 billion and increased 23.8% year over year.

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 5th will be paid a dividend of $0.3850 per share by the business services provider on Thursday, November 19th. This represents a $1.54 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 5th. This is a 10.0% increase from Waste Connections's previous quarterly dividend of $0.35.

Waste Connections has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.1% per year over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 8 consecutive years. Waste Connections has a dividend payout ratio of 23.6% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Waste Connections to earn $6.22 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 22.5%.

Waste Connections Trading Up 9.0%

Shares of NYSE:WCN traded up $15.17 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $183.45. The company had a trading volume of 2,049,303 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,561,714. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $160.94 and a 200 day moving average price of $161.42. Waste Connections has a one year low of $146.89 and a one year high of $183.56. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The company has a market capitalization of $46.04 billion, a PE ratio of 44.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.49.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.64 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.60 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 10.86%. The company's revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Waste Connections will post 5.65 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Company Profile

Waste Connections, Inc is a North American provider of solid waste collection, transfer, disposal and recycling services. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial and construction customers, offering scheduled and on-demand collection as well as waste management solutions tailored to municipalities and businesses.

Its operations include local collection fleets, transfer stations, recycling and resource-recovery facilities, and landfills. Waste Connections also provides non-hazardous oilfield waste services, including the collection, transportation, treatment and disposal of waste generated by energy-production activities.

Founded in 1997, Waste Connections has grown through a combination of internal development and acquisitions.

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