Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) PT Raised to $186.00 at BMO Capital Markets

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) had its price objective upped by BMO Capital Markets from $182.00 to $186.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an "outperform" rating on the business services provider's stock. BMO Capital Markets' price target indicates a potential upside of 13.74% from the company's current price.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. UBS Group downgraded Waste Connections from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $170.00 to $181.00 in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on Waste Connections from $196.00 to $195.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Waste Connections from $146.50 to $179.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Waste Connections from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Waste Connections from $153.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $179.33.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Waste Connections stock traded down $1.65 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $163.53. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,086,551 shares, compared to its average volume of 915,341. The company has a quick ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $168.22 and its 200-day moving average price is $152.10. Waste Connections has a 12 month low of $126.12 and a 12 month high of $173.02. The company has a market capitalization of $42.19 billion, a PE ratio of 53.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.66.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.05 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 14.76% and a net margin of 9.70%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.89 EPS. Analysts anticipate that Waste Connections will post 4.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Andrea E. Bertone sold 902 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.17, for a total value of $152,591.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Connections

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. UMB Bank n.a. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 58.5% during the third quarter. UMB Bank n.a. now owns 1,152 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $155,000 after buying an additional 425 shares during the last quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 0.3% during the third quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 114,756 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $15,412,000 after buying an additional 366 shares during the last quarter. Carderock Capital Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 4.3% during the third quarter. Carderock Capital Management Inc. now owns 36,806 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,943,000 after buying an additional 1,529 shares during the last quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 3.4% during the third quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 26,254 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $3,526,000 after buying an additional 856 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 1.0% during the third quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 8,771 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,178,000 after buying an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Waste Connections

Waste Connections, Inc provides non-hazardous waste collection, transfer, disposal, and resource recovery services in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services to residential, commercial, municipal, industrial, and exploration and production (E&P) customers; landfill disposal services; and recycling services for various recyclable materials, including compost, cardboard, mixed paper, plastic containers, glass bottles, and ferrous and aluminum metals.