Stifel Nicolaus Cuts Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Price Target to $218.00

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) had its price objective reduced by Stifel Nicolaus from $221.00 to $218.00 in a research report sent to investors on Thursday,Benzinga reports. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the business services provider’s stock.

WCN has been the topic of a number of other reports. Barclays restated a “negative” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Thursday. UBS Group set a $195.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday. Raymond James Financial set a $213.00 target price on Waste Connections and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. CIBC reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Atb Cap Markets raised shares of Waste Connections from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $210.63.

Waste Connections Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:WCN opened at $176.76 on Thursday. Waste Connections has a one year low of $169.36 and a one year high of $201.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.36 billion, a PE ratio of 73.65, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.28 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $176.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $185.45.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 6.65%.The business’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.35 earnings per share. Waste Connections has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waste Connections will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 5th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 5th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is presently 52.50%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Connections

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WCN. MGO One Seven LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 23.0% during the 3rd quarter. MGO One Seven LLC now owns 8,965 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,576,000 after acquiring an additional 1,674 shares during the period. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY raised its position in Waste Connections by 0.4% during the third quarter. Miller Howard Investments Inc. NY now owns 28,696 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,045,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 32.2% during the third quarter. Parnassus Investments LLC now owns 1,494 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $263,000 after purchasing an additional 364 shares during the last quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 1.1% in the 3rd quarter. Beaumont Financial Advisors LLC now owns 29,791 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,237,000 after purchasing an additional 317 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 19.8% in the 3rd quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc. now owns 7,512 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,321,000 after purchasing an additional 1,240 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.