Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Given New $195.00 Price Target at Oppenheimer

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) had its price target hoisted by research analysts at Oppenheimer from $192.00 to $195.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an "outperform" rating on the business services provider's stock. Oppenheimer's price objective suggests a potential upside of 8.39% from the stock's previous close.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on WCN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $197.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Scotiabank began coverage on Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $196.00 target price for the company. Raymond James lowered their price objective on Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Five investment 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $199.88.

Waste Connections Stock Down 2.4 %

NYSE WCN traded down $4.33 during trading on Friday, reaching $179.91. 2,051,332 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 889,496. The firm has a market cap of $46.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Connections has a 12-month low of $144.69 and a 12-month high of $194.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $184.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $179.91.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.05. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.81% and a return on equity of 15.43%. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.17 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Connections will post 4.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Waste Connections

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Versor Investments LP lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 75.1% in the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 8,221 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,470,000 after acquiring an additional 3,527 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter valued at about $552,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,503,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 65.6% during the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,034 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $543,000 after purchasing an additional 1,202 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 11.0% during the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 65,052 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $11,408,000 after buying an additional 6,432 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is currently 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.