Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Declares Dividend Increase - $0.35 Per Share

Key Points

• Waste Connections, Inc. announced a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, reflecting an 11.1% increase from its previous dividend of $0.32.
• The company reported $1.44 earnings per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.38.
• Analysts have an average price target of $210.38 for Waste Connections, with most ratings being either Buy or Strong Buy.

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) announced a quarterly dividend on Tuesday, October 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 5th will be paid a dividend of 0.35 per share by the business services provider on Thursday, November 20th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 5th. This is a 11.1% increase from Waste Connections's previous quarterly dividend of $0.32.

Waste Connections has a payout ratio of 21.3% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities analysts expect Waste Connections to earn $6.02 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.26 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 20.9%.

Waste Connections Stock Down 0.3%

WCN opened at $173.55 on Wednesday. Waste Connections has a fifty-two week low of $169.36 and a fifty-two week high of $201.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company has a market capitalization of $44.53 billion, a P/E ratio of 69.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $177.42 and a 200-day moving average of $185.59.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.06. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 6.97%.The company had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.35 earnings per share. The company's revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Waste Connections has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities analysts expect that Waste Connections will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WCN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group set a $190.00 price target on Waste Connections and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, October 16th. Scotiabank set a $208.00 price target on Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, October 10th. Raymond James Financial set a $213.00 price target on Waste Connections and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Barclays initiated coverage on Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, September 19th. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $192.00 price target for the company. Finally, National Bankshares dropped their price target on Waste Connections from $211.00 to $196.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $210.38.

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.

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