Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.32

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, February 12th,RTT News reports. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a dividend of 0.315 per share by the business services provider on Thursday, March 13th. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th.

Waste Connections has raised its dividend payment by an average of 11.5% annually over the last three years. Waste Connections has a payout ratio of 20.9% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Waste Connections to earn $5.37 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.26 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 23.5%.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Waste Connections stock traded up $0.23 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $189.08. 1,261,705 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 873,997. The firm has a market cap of $48.80 billion, a PE ratio of 51.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $179.36 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $181.67. Waste Connections has a twelve month low of $160.34 and a twelve month high of $194.83.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.04). Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.81% and a return on equity of 15.43%. Equities analysts predict that Waste Connections will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts recently issued reports on WCN shares. Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $196.00 to $192.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Citigroup increased their target price on Waste Connections from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Raymond James decreased their price target on Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $201.00.

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.