Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN – Get Free Report) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fifteen have issued a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $202.42.
WCN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays boosted their price objective on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, July 24th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Waste Connections in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $204.00 target price for the company. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, UBS Group raised Waste Connections from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price target for the company from $176.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Friday, September 18th.
Check Out Our Latest Report on Waste Connections
Waste Connections Trading Up 0.4%
Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 10.86%.The company’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.29 EPS. On average, research analysts predict that Waste Connections will post 5.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.
Waste Connections Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 6th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 33.73%.
Insider Buying and Selling
In other Waste Connections news, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.57, for a total value of $416,425.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 734 shares in the company, valued at $122,262.38. This represents 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 Robert Cloninger sold 2,811 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.02, for a total transaction of $480,737.22. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 11,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,995,119.32. This trade represents a 19.42% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Institutional Trading of Waste Connections
Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of WCN. XXEC Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter worth about $164,870,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,061,947,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 4th quarter valued at about $697,519,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $589,671,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $510,526,000. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
About Waste Connections
Waste Connections, Inc is an integrated solid waste services company that provides collection, transfer, disposal, recycling and resource-recovery services across the United States and Canada. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers through a network of collection operations, transfer stations, landfills and recycling facilities.
Its services include curbside and containerized waste collection, construction and demolition debris management, recycling, landfill disposal, and the management of non-hazardous oilfield waste.
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