Atb Cap Markets Issues Positive Outlook for WCN Earnings

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) - Analysts at Atb Cap Markets raised their Q1 2026 EPS estimates for Waste Connections in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, July 1st. Atb Cap Markets analyst C. Murray now anticipates that the business services provider will post earnings of $1.26 per share for the quarter, up from their previous forecast of $1.19. The consensus estimate for Waste Connections' current full-year earnings is $5.28 per share. Atb Cap Markets also issued estimates for Waste Connections' Q4 2026 earnings at $1.52 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $5.94 EPS.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on WCN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $197.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $221.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, April 25th. National Bank Financial raised Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 26th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Waste Connections from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $220.00 target price on Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $212.29.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Waste Connections stock traded up $1.75 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $179.85. 1,360,724 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,010,285. The firm has a market cap of $46.47 billion, a PE ratio of 74.01, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $191.41 and a 200-day simple moving average of $187.35. Waste Connections has a 12 month low of $169.36 and a 12 month high of $201.66.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion for 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 in the prior year, the firm posted $1.04 EPS.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th were issued a dividend of $0.315 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.85%.

Institutional Trading of Waste Connections

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Norges Bank bought a new position in Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth $687,935,000. Nuveen LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the first quarter worth about $623,155,000. FIL Ltd lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 46.2% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 7,177,724 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,231,368,000 after acquiring an additional 2,269,652 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the fourth quarter worth approximately $240,422,000. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Connections by 3.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,247,244 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,901,049,000 after acquiring an additional 954,242 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Waste Connections Company Profile

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.