Q1 EPS Estimate for Waste Connections Reduced by Analyst

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) - Equities researchers at Zacks Research reduced their Q1 2025 earnings per share estimates for shares of Waste Connections in a research note issued on Wednesday, March 5th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the business services provider will earn $1.01 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $1.17. The consensus estimate for Waste Connections' current full-year earnings is $5.28 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Waste Connections' Q2 2025 earnings at $1.35 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $1.49 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.34 EPS, Q4 2026 earnings at $1.37 EPS, FY2026 earnings at $5.86 EPS and FY2027 earnings at $6.72 EPS.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.04). Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 6.92%.

WCN has been the topic of several other reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on Waste Connections from $196.00 to $192.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Waste Connections from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Four investment 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $202.43.

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Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of WCN traded up $2.59 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $188.35. 1,366,213 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 877,351. The company has a market cap of $48.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.81, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81. Waste Connections has a fifty-two week low of $160.34 and a fifty-two week high of $194.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm's fifty day moving average is $182.76 and its 200 day moving average is $182.55.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.315 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is currently 52.72%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Connections

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Integrated Advisors Network LLC grew its stake in Waste Connections by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 1,562 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Putney Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth approximately $140,000. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in Waste Connections by 3.6% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 4,324,863 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $741,147,000 after purchasing an additional 149,712 shares during the period. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth approximately $1,061,000. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. grew its stake in Waste Connections by 76.8% during the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 3,624 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $622,000 after purchasing an additional 1,574 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.