Seaport Res Ptn Upgrades Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) to "Strong-Buy"

Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) to a strong-buy rating in a report released on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports. Seaport Res Ptn also issued estimates for Waste Connections' Q2 2025 earnings at $1.28 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.44 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.24 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.26 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.51 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.69 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.47 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $5.92 EPS, Q1 2027 earnings at $1.38 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $6.46 EPS.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. Truist Financial set a $220.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. William Blair initiated coverage on Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on Waste Connections from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $208.21.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of Waste Connections stock traded down $0.28 during trading on Tuesday, reaching $195.28. 631,254 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 972,311. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65. Waste Connections has a 1-year low of $160.34 and a 1-year high of $201.66. The company has a market cap of $50.45 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.71, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.66. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $192.47 and its 200 day moving average price is $185.98.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.22 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The company's revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.04 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Waste Connections will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 7th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.85%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 307.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,927,155 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $344,615,000 after buying an additional 1,453,733 shares during the last quarter. Barclays PLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 34.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 303,040 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $54,190,000 after purchasing an additional 77,466 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 21.1% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,542 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $991,000 after purchasing an additional 967 shares during the period. JCIC Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 1.5% during the 4th quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 35,887 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $6,152,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares during the period. Finally, Tuttle Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Connections by 34.6% during the 4th quarter. Tuttle Capital Management LLC now owns 2,302 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $395,000 after purchasing an additional 592 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.