Waste Connections (WCN) Stock Price, News & Analysis

Company Overview

Waste Connections Inc. is a leading integrated waste services company in North America. The company provides comprehensive solutions including non-hazardous solid waste collection, transfer, disposal and recycling services. Through its network of collection fleets, transfer stations, landfills and recycling facilities, Waste Connections serves a diverse customer base that ranges from residential and commercial clients to industrial and municipal accounts.

Founded in 1997, Waste Connections has pursued a growth strategy centered on targeted acquisitions and organic expansion. The company focuses primarily on secondary and smaller markets, where it leverages cost advantages and delivers tailored service offerings. Over time, Waste Connections has broadened its portfolio to include specialty services such as renewable natural gas production, landfill gas-to-energy projects and other sustainability solutions designed to reduce environmental impact.

Headquartered in The Woodlands, Texas, Waste Connections operates across dozens of states in the U.S. and multiple provinces in Canada. Its network encompasses hundreds of active collection routes, transfer stations and disposal facilities, supported by a local management structure that emphasizes customer service and operational efficiency. This geography-focused model allows the company to maintain strong community ties while benefiting from regional scale economies.

Under the leadership of Chief Executive Officer Worthing F. Jackman, Waste Connections emphasizes disciplined capital allocation and operational excellence. The company continues to seek strategic growth opportunities through acquisitions and innovations in sustainable waste management, aiming to deliver consistent performance while navigating an evolving environmental and regulatory landscape.

Key Stats

• Today's Range: $170.90 to $173.86
• 50-Day Range: $169.98 to $190.56
• 52-Week Range: $169.36 to $201.66
• Volume: 1.31 million shs
• Average Volume: 1.12 million shs
• Market Capitalization: $44.28 billion
• P/E Ratio: 69.59
• Dividend Yield: 0.73%
• Price Target: $211.73
• Consensus Rating: Buy

Waste Connections Stock Analysis - MarketRank™

Waste Connections scored higher than 99% of companies evaluated by MarketBeat, and ranked 5th out of 324 stocks in the business services sector. Scores are calculated by averaging available category scores, with extra weight given to analysis and valuation.

Analyst's Opinion

• Score: 4.4 / 5
• Analyst Rating: Buy

Consensus Rating

Waste Connections has received a consensus rating of Buy. The company's average rating score is 3.10, and is based on 13 buy ratings, 3 hold ratings, and no sell ratings.

Upside Potential

Waste Connections has a consensus price target of $211.73, representing about 22.7% upside from its current price of $172.58.

Amount of Analyst Coverage

Waste Connections has been the subject of 11 research reports in the past 90 days, demonstrating strong analyst interest in this stock.

Earnings and Valuation

• Score: 1.9 / 5
• Proj. Earnings Growth: 14.02%

Earnings Growth

Earnings for Waste Connections are expected to grow by 14.02% in the coming year, from $5.28 to $6.02 per share.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. the Market

The P/E ratio of Waste Connections is 69.59, which means that it is trading at a less expensive P/E ratio than the market average P/E ratio of about 230.97.

Price to Earnings Ratio vs. Sector

The P/E ratio of Waste Connections is 69.59, which means that it is trading at a more expensive P/E ratio than the Business Services sector average P/E ratio of about 25.94.

Price to Earnings Growth Ratio

Waste Connections has a PEG Ratio of 3.10. PEG Ratios above 1 indicate that a company could be overvalued.

Price to Book Value per Share Ratio

Waste Connections has a P/B Ratio of 5.67. P/B Ratios above 3 indicate that a company could be overvalued with respect to its assets and liabilities.

Short Interest

• Score: 5.0 / 5
• Short Interest Level: Healthy

Percentage of Shares Shorted

0.74% of the float of Waste Connections has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Waste Connections has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 1.6, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Waste Connections has recently decreased by 14.03%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving significantly.

Dividend

• Score: 2.5 / 5
• Dividend Strength: Moderate

Dividend Yield

Waste Connections has a dividend yield of 0.74%, which is in the bottom 25% of all stocks that pay dividends.

Dividend Growth

Waste Connections has been increasing its dividend for 8 years.

Dividend Coverage

The dividend payout ratio of Waste Connections is 50.81%. This payout ratio is at a healthy, sustainable level, below 75%.

Dividend Sustainability

Based on earnings estimates, Waste Connections will have a dividend payout ratio of 20.93% next year. This indicates that Waste Connections will be able to sustain or increase its dividend.

Sustainability and ESG

• Score: 3.5 / 5
• Environmental Score: -0.10

Percentage of Shares Shorted

0.74% of the float of Waste Connections has been sold short.

Short Interest Ratio / Days to Cover

Waste Connections has a short interest ratio ("days to cover") of 1.6, which is generally considered an acceptable ratio of short interest to trading volume.

Change versus previous month

Short interest in Waste Connections has recently decreased by 14.03%, indicating that investor sentiment is improving significantly.

News and Social Media

• Score: 3.0 / 5
• News Sentiment: 0.36

News Sentiment

Waste Connections has a news sentiment score of 0.36. This score is calculated as an average of sentiment of articles about the company over the last seven days and ranges from 2 (good news) to -2 (bad news). This is a lower news sentiment than the 0.74 average news sentiment score of Business Services companies.

News Coverage This Week

MarketBeat has tracked 28 news articles for Waste Connections this week, compared to 17 articles on an average week.

Search Interest

4 people have searched for WCN on MarketBeat in the last 30 days.

MarketBeat Follows

10 people have added Waste Connections to their MarketBeat watchlist in the last 30 days.

Company Ownership

• Score: 1.7 / 5
• Insider Trading: N/A

Insider Buying vs. Insider Selling

In the past three months, Waste Connections insiders have not sold or bought any company stock.

Percentage Held by Insiders

Only 0.28% of the stock of Waste Connections is held by insiders.

Percentage Held by Institutions

86.09% of the stock of Waste Connections is held by institutions. High institutional ownership can be a signal of strong market trust in this company.

WCN Stock Analysis - Frequently Asked Questions

How have WCN shares performed this year?

Waste Connections' stock was trading at $171.58 on January 1st, 2025. Since then, WCN shares have increased by 0.6% and is now trading at $172.58.

How were Waste Connections' earnings last quarter?

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) announced its quarterly earnings data 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. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year.
Read the conference call transcript.

When did Waste Connections' stock split?

Waste Connections's stock split on Monday, June 19th 2017.The 3-2 split was announced on Wednesday, April 26th 2017. The newly minted shares were issued to shareholders after the market closes on Friday, June 16th 2017. An investor that had 100 shares of stock prior to the split would have 150 shares after the split.

Who are Waste Connections' major shareholders?

Waste Connections' top institutional investors include Douglas Lane & Associates LLC (0.08%), Addenda Capital Inc. (0.08%), Gradient Investments LLC (0.05%) and Perpetual Ltd (0.03%). Insiders that own company stock include Mary Anne Whitney, James Little, David Eddie, Robert Michael Cloninger, Susan Netherton, Michael W Harlan, Eric Hansen, Robert Nielsen III, William J Razzouk, Philip Rivard and Andrea E Bertone.
View institutional ownership trends.

How do I buy shares of Waste Connections?

Shares of WCN stock can be purchased through any online brokerage account. Popular online brokerages with access to the U.S. stock market include Charles Schwab, E*TRADE, Fidelity, and Vanguard Brokerage Services.

What other stocks do shareholders of Waste Connections own?

Based on aggregate information from My MarketBeat watchlists, some other companies that Waste Connections investors own include The RMR Group (RMR), iShares Micro-Cap ETF (IWC), DiamondRock Hospitality (DRH), American Water Works (AWK), AUO (AUOTY), Triple Flag Precious Metals (TFPM) and Voyager Therapeutics (VYGR).

Company Calendar

• Last Earnings: 7/23/2025
• Record date for 8/21 Dividend: 8/06/2025
• Ex-Dividend for 8/21 Dividend: 8/06/2025
• Dividend Payable: 8/21/2025
• Today: 10/10/2025
• Next Earnings (Estimated): 10/21/2025
• Fiscal Year End: 12/31/2025

Industry, Sector and Symbol

• Stock Exchange: NYSE
• Sector: Business Services
• Industry: Waste Removal Svcs
• Sub-Industry: Business Services
• Current Symbol: NYSE:WCN
• CIK: 1318220
• Web: www.wasteconnections.com
• Phone: (905) 532-7510
• Fax: 905-532-7580
• Employees: 23,854
• Year Founded: 1997

Price Target and Rating

• Average Price Target for Waste Connections: $211.73
• High Price Target: $230.00
• Low Price Target: $192.00
• Potential Upside/Downside: +22.7%
• Consensus Rating: Buy
• Rating Score (0-4): 3.10
• Research Coverage: 21 Analysts

Profitability

• EPS (Trailing Twelve Months): $2.48
• Trailing P/E Ratio: 69.59
• Forward P/E Ratio: 32.69
• P/E Growth: 3.1
• Net Income: $617.57 million
• Net Margins: 6.97%
• Pretax Margin: 8.89%
• Return on Equity: 15.72%
• Return on Assets: 6.32%

Debt

• Debt-to-Equity Ratio: 1.00
• Current Ratio: 0.67
• Quick Ratio: 0.67

Sales & Book Value

• Annual Sales: $8.92 billion
• Price / Sales: 4.96
• Cash Flow: $9.48 per share
• Price / Cash Flow: 18.20
• Book Value: $30.46 per share
• Price / Book: 5.67

Miscellaneous

• Outstanding Shares: 256,590,000
• Free Float: 255,872,000
• Market Cap: $44.28 billion
• Optionable: Optionable
• Beta: 0.62