Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Shares Down 2.2%

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)’s stock price dropped 2.2% during trading on Thursday . The stock traded as low as $160.85 and last traded at $162.47. Approximately 413,927 shares traded hands during trading, a decline of 54% from the average daily volume of 897,002 shares. The stock had previously closed at $166.18.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WCN has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $153.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $136.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.33.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.68. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $168.22 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $152.10. The stock has a market cap of $42.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.09, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.66.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.02. Waste Connections had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.05 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.85 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be given a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 7th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.01%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Connections

In other news, Director Andrea E. Bertone sold 902 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.17, for a total value of $152,591.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Waste Connections

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 116.2% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Headinvest LLC acquired a new position in Waste Connections during the third quarter worth $36,000. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Waste Connections during the third quarter worth $40,000. Finally, Rational Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Waste Connections during the third quarter worth $41,000. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

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.