Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Receives $204.43 Average PT from Analysts

Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) have earned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the sixteen ratings firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $204.43.

Several brokerages have commented on WCN. Scotiabank raised their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. William Blair started coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Citigroup reduced their target price on Waste Connections from $218.00 to $209.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Waste Connections from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th.

Waste Connections Price Performance

NYSE:WCN traded up $0.75 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $197.32. 979,319 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 969,818. 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 company has a market capitalization of $50.98 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.67. Waste Connections has a 12 month low of $160.34 and a 12 month high of $201.66. The business's 50-day simple moving average is $190.03 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $184.19.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts' consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.04). Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 6.92%. Sell-side analysts expect that Waste Connections will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.315 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.72%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 0.6% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 29,293,002 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,025,836,000 after purchasing an additional 174,121 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can grew its stake in Waste Connections by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 8,644,222 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,481,041,000 after buying an additional 356,798 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 46.2% in the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 7,177,724 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,231,368,000 after acquiring an additional 2,269,652 shares during the period. Capital International Investors lifted its position in Waste Connections by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,949,152 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,020,672,000 after acquiring an additional 899,058 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its holdings in Waste Connections by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,736,179 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $984,214,000 after acquiring an additional 150,683 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company's stock.

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.