Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Price Target Increased to $194.00 by Analysts at Oppenheimer

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) had its price target hoisted by Oppenheimer from $191.00 to $194.00 in a research note published on Monday, Benzinga reports. They currently have an outperform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Scotiabank started coverage on Waste Connections in a report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on Waste Connections from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. Eight Capital upgraded Waste Connections to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Waste Connections from $196.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price target on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $194.19.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Waste Connections stock opened at $178.60 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $182.16 and a 200-day moving average of $175.05. The stock has a market cap of $46.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.99, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Connections has a 52 week low of $126.12 and a 52 week high of $187.54.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.23% and a return on equity of 15.16%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.17 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Waste Connections will post 4.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This is a positive change from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is 37.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Connections news, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was 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 owns 48,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,706,466.95. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 48,899 shares in the company, valued at $8,706,466.95. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.15, for a total value of $180,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $778,428.15. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last quarter, insiders sold 21,600 shares of company stock worth $3,842,550. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Waste Connections

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. American Trust lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 3.7% in the second quarter. American Trust now owns 1,573 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $276,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 15.0% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 529 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 8.8% during the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 916 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $161,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 1.4% during the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 5,966 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 116.2% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.