Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Releases Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.02 EPS

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The business services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.02, Briefing.com reports. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 14.42% and a net margin of 9.51%. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.05 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. Waste Connections’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis.

Waste Connections Stock Down 0.8 %

Waste Connections stock traded down $1.26 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $164.92. The stock had a trading volume of 774,808 shares, compared to its average volume of 902,410. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a current ratio of 0.68 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The company has a market capitalization of $42.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 55.46, a PEG ratio of 2.72 and a beta of 0.66. Waste Connections has a one year low of $126.12 and a one year high of $173.02. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $168.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $151.83.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were paid a dividend of $0.285 per share. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.51%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently issued reports on WCN shares. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $146.50 to $179.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. BMO Capital Markets raised their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $166.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Jefferies Financial Group raised their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, CIBC lifted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $178.87.

Insider Activity at Waste Connections

In other Waste Connections news, Director Andrea E. Bertone sold 902 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.17, for a total value of $152,591.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

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.