Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Reaches New 1-Year High at $173.03

Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $173.03 and last traded at $172.75, with a volume of 20765 shares. The stock had previously closed at $171.69.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WCN. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $166.00 to $178.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Atb Cap Markets downgraded Waste Connections from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Waste Connections from $146.50 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. StockNews.com upgraded Waste Connections from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, March 21st. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $175.82.

Waste Connections Stock Up 0.4 %

The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. The firm has a market cap of $44.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.00, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.66. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $163.02 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $147.51.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 9.51% and a return on equity of 14.42%. Waste Connections’s revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.85 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were issued a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.51%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Andrea E. Bertone sold 902 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.17, for a total value of $152,591.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. HighTower Advisors LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Connections by 36.0% in the 1st quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 10,714 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,501,000 after acquiring an additional 2,835 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in Waste Connections by 10.4% during the first quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,202 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $448,000 after purchasing an additional 301 shares during the last quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 39.5% in the first quarter. Vontobel Holding Ltd. now owns 11,747 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,641,000 after buying an additional 3,328 shares in the last quarter. Blair William & Co. IL lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 34.9% in the 1st quarter. Blair William & Co. IL now owns 40,524 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,661,000 after purchasing an additional 10,473 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 133,034 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $18,661,000 after acquiring an additional 7,734 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.