Stifel Nicolaus Issues Positive Forecast for Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Stock Price

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) had its price target upped by stock analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $205.00 to $212.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a “buy” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price suggests a potential upside of 13.97% from the company’s current price.

A number of other research analysts have also recently commented on WCN. Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 price objective on the stock. CIBC raised their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $199.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperformer” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, Eight Capital raised shares of Waste Connections to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $198.87.

Waste Connections Stock Up 0.1 %

WCN stock traded up $0.23 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $186.02. The stock had a trading volume of 211,087 shares, compared to its average volume of 881,989. Waste Connections has a 1-year low of $141.55 and a 1-year high of $194.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $48.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.22, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $183.78 and a 200 day moving average price of $179.84.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 10.81% and a return on equity of 15.43%. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.17 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Connections will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Connections

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versor Investments LP grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 75.1% during the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 8,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,470,000 after buying an additional 3,527 shares in the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the third quarter worth $552,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the third quarter worth $2,503,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 65.6% in the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,034 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $543,000 after purchasing an additional 1,202 shares during the period. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 11.0% during the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 65,052 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,408,000 after buying an additional 6,432 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.