Recent Analysts’ Ratings Updates for Waste Connections (WCN)

A number of research firms have changed their ratings and price targets for Waste Connections (NYSE: WCN):

• 12/13/2024 – Waste Connections had its price target raised by analysts at Oppenheimer Holdings Inc. from $192.00 to $195.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
• 12/12/2024 – Waste Connections had its price target raised by analysts at Morgan Stanley from $206.00 to $214.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
• 12/11/2024 – Waste Connections had its price target raised by analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $205.00 to $212.00. They now have a “buy” rating on the stock.
• 12/4/2024 – Waste Connections had its price target raised by analysts at CIBC from $199.00 to $215.00. They now have an “outperformer” rating on the stock.
• 10/25/2024 – Waste Connections had its price target lowered by analysts at Raymond James from $208.00 to $205.00. They now have a “strong-buy” rating on the stock.
• 10/25/2024 – Waste Connections had its price target lowered by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $198.00 to $197.00. They now have an “overweight” rating on the stock.
• 10/25/2024 – Waste Connections had its price target raised by analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from $199.00 to $201.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
• 10/25/2024 – Waste Connections had its price target lowered by analysts at BMO Capital Markets from $198.00 to $196.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.
• 10/25/2024 – Waste Connections had its “buy” rating reaffirmed by analysts at Stifel Nicolaus. They now have a $205.00 price target on the stock, up previously from $200.00.
• 10/21/2024 – Waste Connections had its price target raised by analysts at Oppenheimer Holdings Inc. from $191.00 to $194.00. They now have an “outperform” rating on the stock.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

WCN stock traded down $1.87 during trading on Monday, reaching $178.08. The stock had a trading volume of 1,409,669 shares, compared to its average volume of 891,969. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52 week low of $145.35 and a 52 week high of $194.83. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $184.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $180.27. 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 firm has a market cap of $45.96 billion, a PE ratio of 48.92, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.17 earnings per share. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current year.

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 given a dividend of $0.315 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. This is an increase from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is currently 34.62%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Connections

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WCN. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 307.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,927,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $344,615,000 after acquiring an additional 1,453,733 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 432.6% in the 3rd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,259,312 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $225,078,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022,851 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 35.3% during the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,678,562 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $478,777,000 after purchasing an additional 699,012 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 44.2% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,964,082 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $351,037,000 after buying an additional 602,055 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in Waste Connections by 199.4% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 591,250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $105,727,000 after buying an additional 393,763 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

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.