Waste Connections’ (WCN) “Buy” Rating Reaffirmed at Stifel Nicolaus

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN)‘s stock had its “buy” rating reissued by stock analysts at Stifel Nicolaus in a research note issued to investors on Friday, Benzinga reports. They currently have a $205.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $200.00. Stifel Nicolaus’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 15.58% from the company’s previous close.

Several other research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen boosted their price target on Waste Connections from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Waste Connections from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday. Scotiabank began coverage on Waste Connections in a report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Raymond James upped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. Six 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $195.56.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WCN traded down $1.19 during trading on Friday, hitting $177.37. 194,617 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 879,190. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $182.16 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $175.05. The company has a market cap of $45.77 billion, a PE ratio of 57.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.72. 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 12-month low of $126.12 and a 12-month high of $187.54.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate 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 the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.17 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Waste Connections will post 4.84 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Susan Netherton sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.13, for a total transaction of $358,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,078 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,805,272.14. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. In related news, SVP Susan Netherton sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.13, for a total transaction of $358,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,078 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,805,272.14. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 48,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,706,466.95. The trade was 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 worth $3,842,550 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Connections

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 116.2% in 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. Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Asset Dedication LLC acquired a new position in Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new position in Waste Connections in the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,000. Finally, Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.