StockNews.com Lowers Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) to Hold

StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Wednesday morning.

Several other research firms have also recently issued reports on WCN. UBS Group cut Waste Connections from a buy rating to a neutral rating and upped their price objective for the stock from $170.00 to $181.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Wells Fargo & Company lifted their target price on Waste Connections from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Waste Connections from $153.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Waste Connections from $146.50 to $179.00 and gave the stock a sector perform rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada reduced their price objective on Waste Connections from $196.00 to $195.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $179.33.

Waste Connections Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:WCN opened at $164.18 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $167.81 and its two-hundred day moving average is $152.80. 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 has a 1 year low of $126.12 and a 1 year high of $173.02. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.36 billion, a PE ratio of 53.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.67.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.02. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 9.70%. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $0.89 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Waste Connections will post 4.82 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be issued a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.01%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Andrea E. Bertone sold 902 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.17, for a total transaction of $152,591.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Connections

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd purchased a new position in Waste Connections in the first quarter valued at about $2,986,000. AA Financial Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Connections during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $333,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 27.3% during the 1st quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 3,433 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $591,000 after purchasing an additional 737 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division purchased a new stake in Waste Connections during the 1st quarter worth approximately $147,000. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. raised its position in shares of Waste Connections by 41.8% in the 1st quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 2,186 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $376,000 after purchasing an additional 644 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.