Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Earns Outperform Rating from Analysts at William Blair

William Blair began coverage on shares of Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) in a report issued on Thursday, MarketBeat reports. The brokerage issued an outperform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

WCN has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $196.00 to $192.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. CIBC reduced their target price on Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Waste Connections from $199.00 to $218.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.00.

Waste Connections Stock Down 5.9 %

Shares of NYSE:WCN opened at $188.07 on Thursday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $188.80 and a two-hundred day moving average of $183.27. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $48.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.69, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.67. Waste Connections has a 52-week low of $160.34 and a 52-week high of $201.66.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.04). Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 6.92%. On average, research analysts expect that Waste Connections will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.315 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is currently 52.72%.

Institutional Trading of Waste Connections

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Manchester Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 153.3% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 152 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the fourth quarter worth approximately $27,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 59.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.