Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Shares Up 0%

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report)'s stock price shot up 0% during trading on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $166.85 and last traded at $166.18. 135,824 shares traded hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 85% from the average session volume of 889,502 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.17.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on WCN. Citigroup increased their target price on Waste Connections from $136.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Atb Cap Markets lowered Waste Connections from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on Waste Connections from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. CIBC increased their target price on Waste Connections from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Waste Connections from $153.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $178.87.

Waste Connections Stock Down 0.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $168.32 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $151.83. The firm has a market cap of $42.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 56.11, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.66.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.03. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 14.42% and a net margin of 9.51%. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $0.89 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Andrea E. Bertone sold 902 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.17, for a total transaction of $152,591.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Connections

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. Pacifica Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Connections in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Connections by 116.2% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Headinvest LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Rational Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

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.