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

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) had its price objective raised by Citigroup from $195.00 to $196.00 in a report issued on Monday,BayStreet.CA reports. The firm currently has a neutral rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $198.00 to $197.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. CIBC decreased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Eight Capital upgraded Waste Connections to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Connections presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.75.

Waste Connections Price Performance

WCN opened at $176.85 on Monday. 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 company has a market capitalization of $45.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $181.33 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $180.80.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 prior year, the firm posted $1.17 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts anticipate that Waste Connections will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were paid a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This is a boost from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.62%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 2.3% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 8,103,895 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,423,373,000 after buying an additional 178,870 shares during the period. FMR LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,313,725 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $950,055,000 after acquiring an additional 30,890 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 35.3% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,678,562 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $478,777,000 after acquiring an additional 699,012 shares during the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 6.5% during the third quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 2,332,002 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $417,385,000 after purchasing an additional 142,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 15.5% in the third quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 2,303,339 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $401,936,000 after purchasing an additional 309,619 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Waste Connections

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.