Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Price Target Lowered to $205.00 at Raymond James

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) had its price target cut by stock analysts at Raymond James from $208.00 to $205.00 in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “strong-buy” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Raymond James’ price target suggests a potential upside of 16.55% from the stock’s current price.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Waste Connections from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $197.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday. Finally, CIBC upped their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an “outperformer” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $195.56.

Waste Connections Stock Down 1.5 %

NYSE:WCN traded down $2.67 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $175.89. 332,792 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 879,857. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. Waste Connections has a fifty-two week low of $126.12 and a fifty-two week high of $187.54. The company has a market capitalization of $45.38 billion, a PE ratio of 57.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $182.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $175.05.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.05. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.16% and a net margin of 10.23%. The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.17 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Connections will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.15, for a total value of $180,150.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,321 shares in the company, valued at $778,428.15. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. In other Waste Connections news, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total value of $2,902,215.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.15, for a total transaction of $180,150.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $778,428.15. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 21,600 shares of company stock valued at $3,842,550. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in Waste Connections by 6.2% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 144,756 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $24,899,000 after acquiring an additional 8,505 shares during the last quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC increased its position in Waste Connections by 591.5% during the 1st quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,881 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,700,000 after purchasing an additional 8,452 shares in the last quarter. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd purchased a new position in Waste Connections in the first quarter valued at approximately $2,986,000. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in Waste Connections by 17.5% during the first quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 58,066 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $9,988,000 after buying an additional 8,632 shares in the last quarter. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System grew its stake in Waste Connections by 1.0% during the first quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 317,220 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,565,000 after buying an additional 3,106 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.