Oppenheimer Boosts Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Price Target to $194.00

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

WCN has been the subject of a number of other research reports. TD Cowen upped their target price on Waste Connections from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on Waste Connections from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday, July 29th. CIBC increased their price target on Waste Connections from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an “outperformer” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Raymond James increased their price target on Waste Connections from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $194.19.

Waste Connections Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of WCN stock opened at $180.36 on Monday. Waste Connections has a twelve month low of $126.12 and a twelve month high of $187.54. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $182.16 and its 200 day simple moving average is $175.05. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.07. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.16% and a net margin of 10.23%. The business had revenue of $2.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.02 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Connections will post 4.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.70%. This is a positive change from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Connections news, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 48,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,706,466.95. 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 accessible through this hyperlink. In other Waste Connections news, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 48,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,706,466.95. 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 accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Susan Netherton sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.13, for a total value of $358,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 10,078 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,805,272.14. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 21,600 shares of company stock worth $3,842,550. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 116.2% in 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 in the last quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Asset Dedication LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the first quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Finally, Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the second quarter valued at approximately $45,000. 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.