Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Price Target Raised to $218.00

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) had its target price increased by investment analysts at Oppenheimer from $216.00 to $218.00 in a report released on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an "outperform" rating on the business services provider's stock. Oppenheimer's target price suggests a potential upside of 19.78% from the company's current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the company. Melius began coverage on Waste Connections in a research note on Monday, June 9th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $221.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Scotiabank raised their price target on Waste Connections from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, William Blair assumed coverage on Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $213.93.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WCN traded up $0.81 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $182.00. 1,643,127 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,017,255. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.70. Waste Connections has a 52-week low of $169.36 and a 52-week high of $201.66. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $190.60 and its 200 day simple moving average is $187.57. The company has a market cap of $47.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.90, a PEG ratio of 3.16 and a beta of 0.60.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.74% and a net margin of 6.93%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.04 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Waste Connections will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Connections

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,247,244 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,901,049,000 after purchasing an additional 954,242 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 8,644,222 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,481,041,000 after purchasing an additional 356,798 shares during the period. FIL Ltd raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 7,177,724 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,231,368,000 after purchasing an additional 2,269,652 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 6,383,780 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,230,984,000 after purchasing an additional 18,400 shares during the period. Finally, Capital International Investors raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,949,152 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,020,672,000 after purchasing an additional 899,058 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.