Royal Bank of Canada Trims Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Target Price to $195.00

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) had its price objective lowered by Royal Bank of Canada from $196.00 to $195.00 in a research report report published on Friday, BayStreet.CA reports. The firm currently has an outperform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

WCN has been the topic of a number of other reports. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Atb Cap Markets lowered shares of Waste Connections from an outperform rating to a sector perform rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $136.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a neutral rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $153.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an overweight rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, CIBC upped their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a buy rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of Moderate Buy and a consensus target price of $179.33.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of WCN opened at $164.65 on Friday. Waste Connections has a 12 month low of $126.12 and a 12 month high of $173.02. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $168.16 and a 200 day simple moving average of $152.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.46, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.02. Waste Connections had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.05 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Waste Connections will post 4.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be paid a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 7th. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is 37.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Connections

In other Waste Connections news, Director Andrea E. Bertone sold 902 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.17, for a total transaction of $152,591.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Connections

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 116.2% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Connections in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. OFI Invest Asset Management bought a new stake in Waste Connections in the 1st quarter worth about $32,000. Headinvest LLC bought a new stake in Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Operose Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.