Scotiabank Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Stock

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) had its price target lifted by investment analysts at Scotiabank from $192.00 to $207.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm presently has a “sector perform” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Scotiabank’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 7.19% from the stock’s current price.

Other equities research analysts have also issued reports about the stock. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Citigroup lowered their target price on Waste Connections from $218.00 to $209.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.43.

Waste Connections Trading Up 5.4 %

Shares of NYSE WCN opened at $193.11 on Tuesday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $189.24 and its 200-day moving average price is $183.54. Waste Connections has a 52-week low of $160.34 and a 52-week high of $201.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65. The company has a market cap of $49.89 billion, a PE ratio of 80.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.67.

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

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Merit Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Waste Connections by 92.8% during the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 3,551 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $693,000 after purchasing an additional 1,709 shares during the last quarter. Paladin Wealth LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Connections by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. Paladin Wealth LLC now owns 3,090 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $603,000 after buying an additional 225 shares in the last quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 1,022.7% in the 1st quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 4,210 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $821,000 after acquiring an additional 3,835 shares during the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC grew its position in Waste Connections by 13.3% in the first quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 94,170 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $18,381,000 after acquiring an additional 11,062 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Douglas Lane & Associates LLC raised its position in Waste Connections by 13.4% during the first quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC now owns 146,625 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,620,000 after purchasing an additional 17,369 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by 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.