Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Cut to “Hold” at StockNews.com

StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a research report released on Wednesday.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. CIBC boosted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $136.00 to $163.00 and gave the company a neutral rating in a research note on Thursday, January 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $196.00 to $195.00 and set an outperform rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. UBS Group lowered Waste Connections from a buy rating to a neutral rating and lifted their target price for the company from $170.00 to $181.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Monday, March 18th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and an average price target of $179.33.

Waste Connections Price Performance

NYSE WCN opened at $164.18 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. Waste Connections has a 1-year low of $126.12 and a 1-year high of $173.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.31, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.67. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $167.81 and its 200-day moving average price is $152.80.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.02. Waste Connections had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.89 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts predict that Waste Connections will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be issued a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is 37.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Andrea E. Bertone sold 902 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.17, for a total transaction of $152,591.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. First Affirmative Financial Network lifted its holdings in Waste Connections by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 1,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $317,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 8,844 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,321,000 after buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 4.9% in the 3rd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,673 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $225,000 after acquiring an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 1.4% during the 3rd quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,537 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $744,000 after acquiring an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,182 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $475,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is 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.