Brokerages Set Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) PT at $202.43

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) has earned a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the fifteen brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $202.43.

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WCN shares. CIBC dropped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $196.00 to $192.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th.

Waste Connections Price Performance

NYSE:WCN opened at $189.35 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market cap of $48.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $185.60 and a 200-day moving average price of $182.61. Waste Connections has a 1-year low of $160.34 and a 1-year high of $194.83.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.04). Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 15.54%. Equities research analysts forecast that Waste Connections will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.315 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.72%.

Institutional Trading of Waste Connections

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WCN. Manchester Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections in the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 153.3% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 152 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in Waste Connections in the 4th quarter valued at about $28,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 59.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. 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.