Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN – Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 23rd, RTT News reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a dividend of 0.315 per share by the business services provider on Thursday, November 14th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. This is a positive change from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29.
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% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Waste Connections to earn $5.46 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 20.9%.
Waste Connections Stock Performance
Shares of NYSE WCN traded down $0.99 during mid-day trading on Wednesday, reaching $180.36. 1,099,145 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 880,777. Waste Connections has a twelve month low of $126.12 and a twelve month high of $187.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $46.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 58.88, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $182.19 and its 200-day simple moving average is $175.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.
Insider Activity
In related news, SVP Susan Netherton sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.13, for a total transaction of $358,260.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 10,078 shares in the company, valued at $1,805,272.14. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. In other news, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were 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 owns 48,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,706,466.95. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Susan Netherton sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.13, for a total value of $358,260.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 10,078 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,805,272.14. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,600 shares of company stock valued at $3,842,550 over the last quarter. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
WCN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Citigroup boosted their price target on Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, July 11th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, CIBC boosted their price target on Waste Connections from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an “outperformer” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $194.19.
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.
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