Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN – Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, July 24th, Wall Street Journal reports. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 7th will be paid a dividend of 0.285 per share by the business services provider on Thursday, August 22nd. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 7th.
Waste Connections has raised its dividend by an average of 11.4% annually over the last three years. Waste Connections has a dividend payout ratio of 20.9% meaning its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Equities research analysts expect Waste Connections to earn $5.53 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.14 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 20.6%.
Waste Connections Trading Up 0.6 %
Shares of WCN stock traded up $1.03 on Tuesday, reaching $177.44. 13,741 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 907,550. Waste Connections has a one year low of $126.12 and a one year high of $182.99. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $173.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $167.97. The stock has a market cap of $45.78 billion, a PE ratio of 57.29, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.70.
Insiders Place Their Bets
In related news, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 48,899 shares in the company, valued at $8,706,466.95. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In other news, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 48,899 shares in the company, valued at $8,706,466.95. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 2,000 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.00, for a total value of $332,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,321 shares in the company, valued at $1,049,286. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 20,800 shares of company stock worth $3,654,600 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.
Analysts Set New Price Targets
Several research firms have weighed in on WCN. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $189.00 price objective on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, July 29th. StockNews.com raised shares of Waste Connections from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday, May 18th. CIBC upped their target price on Waste Connections from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an “outperformer” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Waste Connections from $195.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $187.28.
View Our Latest Stock Report on Waste Connections
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.
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