Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Announces Earnings Results

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) issued its earnings results on Wednesday. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.05, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.30 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.16% and a net margin of 10.23%. Waste Connections's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.17 EPS. Waste Connections updated its FY 2024 guidance to EPS.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Waste Connections stock traded down $1.76 during midday trading on Thursday, reaching $178.60. The stock had a trading volume of 1,220,397 shares, compared to its average volume of 882,514. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.08 billion, a PE ratio of 57.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Connections has a 12 month low of $126.12 and a 12 month high of $187.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $182.16 and its 200 day moving average price is $175.05.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.315 per share. This is an increase from Waste Connections's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is presently 37.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,300 shares of the business's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.75, for a total value of $401,925.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,226 shares of the company's stock, valued at $214,243.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Susan Netherton sold 2,000 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.13, for a total transaction of $358,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,078 shares in the company, valued at $1,805,272.14. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,300 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.75, for a total value of $401,925.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,226 shares in the company, valued at $214,243.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,600 shares of company stock worth $3,842,550 over the last quarter. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday. Truist Financial raised their target price on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. TD Cowen upped their price target on Waste Connections from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $194.19.

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.