Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Research Coverage Started at Scotiabank

Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) in a research note issued to investors on Friday morning, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm issued a sector perform rating and a $196.00 price objective on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on the company. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Waste Connections from $196.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen upped their price objective on Waste Connections from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. CIBC upped their price objective on Waste Connections from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an outperformer rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Waste Connections from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their target price on Waste Connections from $181.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $191.53.

Waste Connections Trading Down 1.0 %

Shares of Waste Connections stock opened at $176.41 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $45.52 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $181.56 and its 200-day simple moving average is $174.08. Waste Connections has a 1-year low of $126.12 and a 1-year high of $187.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its 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 business had revenue of $2.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.22 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.16% and a net margin of 10.23%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.02 EPS. Analysts predict that Waste Connections will post 4.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th were paid a dividend of $0.285 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 7th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.15, for a total transaction of $180,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $778,428.15. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In related news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.15, for a total transaction of $180,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $778,428.15. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total transaction of $2,902,215.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 48,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,706,466.95. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,600 shares of company stock valued at $3,842,550 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in Waste Connections by 116.2% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in Waste Connections during the 1st quarter worth $32,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Waste Connections in the 1st quarter worth $43,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Connections by 3,885.7% in the 2nd quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 279 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 272 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently 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.