Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Given Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) have been given a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” by the fifteen ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $202.43.

Several research firms have weighed in on WCN. Scotiabank dropped their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $196.00 to $192.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Connections from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup increased their target price on Waste Connections from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their price target on Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WCN opened at $193.07 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.78, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81. 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 business’s 50 day simple moving average is $186.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $182.72. Waste Connections has a 12 month low of $160.34 and a 12 month 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%. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Waste Connections will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.72%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Connections

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its stake in Waste Connections by 29.7% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 5,932 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,018,000 after acquiring an additional 1,357 shares during the last quarter. Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth about $14,496,000. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth about $1,965,000. Mattson Financial Services LLC increased its position in Waste Connections by 5.2% during the 4th quarter. Mattson Financial Services LLC now owns 7,306 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,306,000 after purchasing an additional 358 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Advisors Network LLC raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 5.5% in the fourth quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 1,562 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $268,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.