Royal Bank of Canada Increases Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Price Target to $201.00

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) had its price objective raised by equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $199.00 to $201.00 in a research report issued on Friday, Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “outperform” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Royal Bank of Canada’s price objective indicates a potential upside of 14.33% from the stock’s current price.

WCN has been the topic of several other reports. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Eight Capital upgraded shares of Waste Connections to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, CIBC increased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an “outperformer” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $195.56.

Waste Connections Price Performance

NYSE:WCN opened at $175.80 on Friday. Waste Connections has a one year low of $126.12 and a one year high of $187.54. The company has a market cap of $45.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $181.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $175.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.05. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.23% and a return on equity of 15.16%. The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.17 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Waste Connections will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Connections

In other Waste Connections news, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of the firm’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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 48,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,706,466.95. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In other news, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,300 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.75, for a total transaction of $401,925.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,226 shares in the company, valued at $214,243.50. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of Waste Connections 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 48,899 shares in the company, 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. In the last three months, insiders have sold 21,600 shares of company stock worth $3,842,550. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Connections

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Trust raised its stake in Waste Connections by 3.7% in the 2nd quarter. American Trust now owns 1,573 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $276,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 529 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 8.8% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 916 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $161,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 5,966 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,047,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 116.2% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by 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.