Brokerages Set Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Target Price at $202.43

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) has been given an average rating of "Moderate Buy" by the fifteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $202.43.

Several research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com cut Waste Connections from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, 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.

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Waste Connections Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE WCN traded up $1.56 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $190.88. 879,025 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 882,289. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.26 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.87, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $185.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $182.61. 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 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%. As a group, equities analysts expect that Waste Connections will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.315 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.72%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth about $687,935,000. FIL Ltd raised its stake in Waste Connections by 46.2% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 7,177,724 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,231,368,000 after acquiring an additional 2,269,652 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position in Waste Connections by 307.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,927,155 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $344,615,000 after acquiring an additional 1,453,733 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $240,422,000. Finally, BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 432.6% in the 3rd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,259,312 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $225,078,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022,851 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.