Royal Bank of Canada Increases Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Price Target to $199.00

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) had its price objective hoisted by equities researchers at Royal Bank of Canada from $195.00 to $199.00 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. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective would suggest a potential upside of 13.40% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently weighed in on WCN. Truist Financial raised their price objective on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Waste Connections from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 18th. CIBC upped their price target on Waste Connections from $181.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 3rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $189.00 price objective for the company. Five research 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $184.35.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

WCN stock opened at $175.49 on Friday. Waste Connections has a 1-year low of $126.12 and a 1-year high of $182.99. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $172.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $166.46. The company has a market capitalization of $45.28 billion, a P/E ratio of 56.98, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $2.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.22 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.23% and a return on equity of 15.30%. The company’s revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.02 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Connections will post 4.79 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Waste Connections

In other Waste Connections news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.00, for a total transaction of $332,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,049,286. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. In other Waste Connections news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 2,000 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.00, for a total transaction of $332,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,049,286. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Michael W. Harlan sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.59, for a total transaction of $251,385.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 8,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,341,390.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 4,500 shares of company stock valued at $752,385. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Connections

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Calamos Advisors LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. Calamos Advisors LLC now owns 14,956 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,623,000 after acquiring an additional 718 shares during the last quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Connections by 38.8% in the second quarter. Calamos Wealth Management LLC now owns 11,092 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,945,000 after acquiring an additional 3,100 shares during the last quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in Waste Connections by 57.9% during the second quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 3,355 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $588,000 after acquiring an additional 1,230 shares during the last quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Connections in the second quarter valued at $64,176,000. Finally, Arcus Capital Partners LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 2.8% in the 2nd quarter. Arcus Capital Partners LLC now owns 4,749 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $833,000 after purchasing an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. 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.