Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Given New $208.00 Price Target at Scotiabank

Key Points

• Scotiabank has raised its price target for Waste Connections from $202.00 to $208.00, indicating a potential upside of 10.68% from the stock's previous close.
• Analysts have given Waste Connections an average rating of "Buy," with multiple brokerages also issuing "strong-buy" ratings and higher price targets.
• The company's stock recently traded down 0.2%, with a current price of $187.93 and a market cap of $48.56 billion.
• Waste Connections reported a quarterly revenue of $2.41 billion, exceeding analysts' expectations, alongside an earnings per share of $1.29.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) had its target price lifted by stock analysts at Scotiabank from $202.00 to $208.00 in a report released on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "sector perform" rating on the business services provider's stock. Scotiabank's price objective indicates a potential upside of 10.68% from the stock's previous close.

Several other brokerages have also issued reports on WCN. Melius Research upgraded Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $213.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 9th. National Bank Financial upgraded Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 26th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Waste Connections from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. CIBC decreased their price objective on Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperformer" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 8th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price objective on Waste Connections from $221.00 to $219.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Four 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $214.29.

Waste Connections Stock Down 0.2%

Shares of NYSE:WCN traded down $0.31 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $187.93. 895,240 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,135,234. The stock has a market cap of $48.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.74, a P/E/G ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. Waste Connections has a 12-month low of $169.36 and a 12-month high of $201.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $188.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $188.46.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.04. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.87% and a net margin of 6.97%. The company had revenue of $2.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.24 earnings per share. Waste Connections's quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Connections will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Waste Connections

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth about $687,935,000. Nuveen LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Connections during the 1st quarter worth about $623,155,000. FIL Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 46.2% during the 4th 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 in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 3.3% during 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 acquiring an additional 954,242 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 19,519.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 918,564 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $179,295,000 after acquiring an additional 913,882 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.

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