Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Price Target Raised to $198.00

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) had its price objective hoisted by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $175.00 to $198.00 in a report issued on Monday, BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the business services provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price suggests a potential upside of 11.90% from the stock’s current price.

WCN has been the topic of a number of other reports. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $181.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, July 15th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Raymond James upped their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, July 22nd. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft initiated coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $189.00 price target for the company. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.28.

Waste Connections Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE:WCN traded up $1.28 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $176.94. 356,588 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 906,120. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $172.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $166.92. Waste Connections has a 52 week low of $126.12 and a 52 week high of $182.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.44, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.23% and a return on equity of 15.16%. Waste Connections’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.02 EPS. On average, equities research analysts predict that Waste Connections will post 4.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Connections

In related news, Director Michael W. Harlan sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.59, for a total transaction of $251,385.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,004 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,341,390.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. In other Waste Connections news, Director Michael W. Harlan sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.59, for a total value of $251,385.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,004 shares in the company, valued at $1,341,390.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.00, for a total value of $169,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $899,249. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,500 shares of company stock valued at $752,385 in the last ninety days. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Connections

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 24.2% during the 4th quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 6,637 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $991,000 after purchasing an additional 1,293 shares during the period. Carderock Capital Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 1.7% in the 4th quarter. Carderock Capital Management Inc. now owns 37,422 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,586,000 after purchasing an additional 616 shares in the last quarter. Lewis Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections in the 4th quarter worth $242,000. MWA Asset Management grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. MWA Asset Management now owns 5,129 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $766,000 after purchasing an additional 155 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Asset Management One Co. Ltd. grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 1.1% during the fourth quarter. Asset Management One Co. Ltd. now owns 116,047 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $17,270,000 after purchasing an additional 1,291 shares in 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.