Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Price Target Raised to $200.00 at TD Cowen

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) had its target price lifted by TD Cowen from $185.00 to $200.00 in a report released on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also commented on WCN. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Waste Connections from $196.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an outperform rating in a research report on Friday. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Waste Connections from $195.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a research note on Friday. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $181.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an outperform rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. StockNews.com raised Waste Connections from a hold rating to a buy rating in a research note on Saturday, May 18th. Finally, Truist Financial increased their target price on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average target price of $187.28.

Waste Connections Stock Up 0.2 %

Shares of WCN stock opened at $175.93 on Friday. Waste Connections has a twelve month low of $126.12 and a twelve month high of $182.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.70. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $172.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $167.12. The company has a market capitalization of $45.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.12, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $2.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.16% and a net margin of 10.23%. Waste Connections’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.02 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Waste Connections will post 4.81 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th will be issued a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 7th. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is 37.01%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Connections

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Connections

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 4th quarter valued at $592,392,000. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 43.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,364,071 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $651,427,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320,933 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in Waste Connections by 57.7% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 3,500,718 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $522,988,000 after buying an additional 1,281,418 shares in the last quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Connections by 235.5% during the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,153,882 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $172,240,000 after purchasing an additional 809,914 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 113.0% during the fourth quarter. Public Employees Retirement Association of Colorado now owns 1,188,703 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $177,438,000 after acquiring an additional 630,685 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

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.