Zacks Research Has Negative Estimate for WCN Q4 Earnings

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) – Analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q4 2024 earnings per share estimates for Waste Connections in a research note issued on Wednesday, November 13th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the business services provider will post earnings per share of $1.20 for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $1.22. The consensus estimate for Waste Connections’ current full-year earnings is $4.84 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Waste Connections’ Q3 2026 earnings at $1.57 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $6.06 EPS.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on WCN. Eight Capital raised shares of Waste Connections to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Scotiabank began coverage on Waste Connections in a report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $195.56.

Waste Connections Price Performance

NYSE WCN opened at $183.83 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.44 billion, a PE ratio of 50.50, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Connections has a 12-month low of $130.33 and a 12-month high of $188.30. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $180.83 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $176.55.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.05. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 10.81%. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.17 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were issued a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This is a boost from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.62%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Connections

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Waste Connections by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,498,983 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,902,110,000 after purchasing an additional 88,137 shares during the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 2.3% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 8,103,895 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,423,373,000 after buying an additional 178,870 shares in the last quarter. FMR LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 0.6% in the third quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,313,725 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $950,055,000 after acquiring an additional 30,890 shares during the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 2,332,002 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $417,385,000 after acquiring an additional 142,751 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. grew its position in Waste Connections by 15.5% during the 3rd quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 2,303,339 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $401,936,000 after acquiring an additional 309,619 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Company Profile

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.