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

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) had its price objective raised by CIBC from $199.00 to $215.00 in a research note published on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an outperformer rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on WCN. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and issued a $205.00 price target (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, October 25th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James cut their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Eight Capital upgraded shares of Waste Connections to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $198.40.

Waste Connections Trading Down 0.3 %

Shares of WCN stock opened at $190.99 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $49.29 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.47, a PEG ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Connections has a 1-year low of $137.25 and a 1-year high of $194.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $182.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $179.10.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.81% and a return on equity of 15.43%. The company’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.17 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Waste Connections will post 4.84 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. This is an increase from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.62%.

Institutional Trading of Waste Connections

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WCN. Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Waste Connections in the third quarter worth $36,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Waste Connections in the third quarter worth $40,000. Asset Dedication LLC acquired a new position in Waste Connections in the third quarter worth $41,000. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Connections by 58.0% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 226 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Finally, Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Waste Connections in the second quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

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.