Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The business services provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.05, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.23% and a return on equity of 15.16%. Waste Connections’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.17 EPS. Waste Connections updated its FY 2024 guidance to EPS.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of Waste Connections stock traded down $2.64 during trading on Thursday, hitting $177.72. 306,544 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 878,077. Waste Connections has a fifty-two week low of $126.12 and a fifty-two week high of $187.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $182.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $175.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.86 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.56, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. This is a boost from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts recently issued reports on WCN shares. TD Cowen increased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Waste Connections from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Waste Connections from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday. Eight Capital raised Waste Connections to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Raymond James raised their target price on Waste Connections from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $194.19.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Connections

In other news, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total value of $2,902,215.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 48,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,706,466.95. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. In other Waste Connections news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.15, for a total value of $180,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,321 shares in the company, valued at $778,428.15. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total transaction of $2,902,215.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 48,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,706,466.95. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,600 shares of company stock worth $3,842,550. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.