Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Stock Has Consensus Target Price of $203.22

Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) have earned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the nineteen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, seventeen have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $203.22.

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WCN. Oppenheimer restated an “outperform” rating and set a $200.00 target price (up from $193.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Barclays reiterated a “positive” rating and issued a $189.00 price objective (up from $187.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $206.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, October 23rd. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $207.00 price objective (up from $184.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, October 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $201.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, October 23rd.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.57, for a total transaction of $416,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $122,262.38. The trade was a 77.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Matthew Black sold 11,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, October 29th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.60, for a total value of $1,986,600.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 32,530 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,874,918. This trade represents a 25.27% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 16,500 shares of company stock valued at $2,960,235 over the last 90 days. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. XXEC Inc. acquired a new stake in Waste Connections in the second quarter worth $164,870,000. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 0.9% during the first quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 12,210,661 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,983,500,000 after purchasing an additional 106,763 shares in the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the second quarter worth $1,061,947,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 48.7% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,724,204 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $604,573,000 after buying an additional 1,219,056 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter valued at $510,526,000. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Trading Down 0.1%

WCN opened at $193.75 on Wednesday. Waste Connections has a 1-year low of $146.89 and a 1-year high of $196.51. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.37 billion, a PE ratio of 34.63, a PEG ratio of 3.55 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.20. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $168.21 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $164.68.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.06. Waste Connections had a net margin of 11.40% and a return on equity of 17.76%. The business had revenue of $2.64 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.60 billion. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 23.8% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Connections will post 5.70 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 19th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 5th will be given a $0.3850 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 5th. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is an increase from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.35. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is 34.45%.

Waste Connections Company Profile

Waste Connections, Inc. is a North American provider of non-hazardous solid waste services. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers, with operations across the United States and Canada, particularly in secondary markets and rural communities. Its services include waste collection, transfer and disposal, as well as recycling and resource recovery. In select regions, Waste Connections also provides treatment, recovery and disposal services for waste generated by oil and gas exploration and production.