Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Price Target Lowered to $212.00 at CIBC

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) had its price target lowered by CIBC from $215.00 to $212.00 in a research note issued to investors on Thursday morning,BayStreet.CA reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other equities analysts have also issued reports on WCN. Citigroup boosted their target price on Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Raymond James reduced their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 price objective on the stock. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.69.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of WCN opened at $174.28 on Thursday. Waste Connections has a one year low of $145.35 and a one year high of $194.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company has a market capitalization of $44.98 billion, a PE ratio of 47.88, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s fifty day moving average price is $183.67 and its 200 day moving average price is $180.56.

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, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.05. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 10.81%. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.17 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Waste Connections will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were paid a dividend of $0.315 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. This is a boost from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.62%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Connections

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Versor Investments LP grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 75.1% during the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 8,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,470,000 after buying an additional 3,527 shares in the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $552,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at about $2,503,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 65.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,034 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $543,000 after acquiring an additional 1,202 shares during the period. Finally, Barclays PLC boosted its holdings in Waste Connections by 34.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 303,040 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $54,190,000 after purchasing an additional 77,466 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.