Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Price Target Raised to $196.00

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) had its price objective upped by Citigroup from $195.00 to $196.00 in a research report released on Monday morning,BayStreet.CA reports. Citigroup currently has a neutral rating on the business services provider's stock.

Several other analysts have also recently issued reports on WCN. Raymond James dropped their target price on Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $198.00 to $197.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Eight Capital upgraded Waste Connections to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.75.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

WCN stock traded up $1.73 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $176.53. 783,693 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 961,756. Waste Connections has a 1-year low of $145.35 and a 1-year 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 stock's fifty day simple moving average is $181.40 and its 200-day simple moving average is $180.81. The firm has a market cap of $45.56 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.50, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.76.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.30 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.81% and a return on equity of 15.43%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.17 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Waste Connections will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. This is an increase from Waste Connections's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.62%.

Institutional Trading of Waste Connections

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WCN. JCIC Asset Management Inc. raised its stake in Waste Connections by 1.5% in the 4th quarter. JCIC Asset Management Inc. now owns 35,887 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $6,152,000 after purchasing an additional 515 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Waste Connections by 21.1% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,542 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $991,000 after acquiring an additional 967 shares during the last quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 20.9% in the fourth quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 129,256 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $22,178,000 after buying an additional 22,310 shares during the period. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 450.5% during the fourth quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division now owns 4,762 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $817,000 after purchasing an additional 3,897 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in Waste Connections in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $389,000. 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.