Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN – Get Free Report) was downgraded by equities research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note issued on Wednesday.
Other research analysts also recently issued research reports about the company. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price target on Waste Connections from $170.00 to $175.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 25th. Citigroup increased their target price on Waste Connections from $136.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Wolfe Research reiterated a “peer perform” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Tuesday, November 21st. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $146.50 to $179.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $154.00 to $155.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $171.88.
Waste Connections Stock Up 0.6 %
NYSE:WCN traded up $1.06 during trading hours on Wednesday, hitting $169.82. The stock had a trading volume of 622,541 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,000,113. The company has a market cap of $43.76 billion, a PE ratio of 57.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.66. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $158.86 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $145.41. Waste Connections has a 1-year low of $126.12 and a 1-year high of $171.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88.
Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.11 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.03. Waste Connections had a net margin of 9.51% and a return on equity of 14.42%. The business had revenue of $2.04 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts predict that Waste Connections will post 4.85 EPS for the current year.
Insider Transactions at Waste Connections
In other Waste Connections news, Director Andrea E. Bertone sold 902 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.17, for a total value of $152,591.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Waste Connections news, Director Andrea E. Bertone sold 902 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.17, for a total value of $152,591.34. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Philip Rivard sold 5,097 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 21st. The shares were sold at an average price of $146.26, for a total transaction of $745,487.22. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.35% of the company’s stock.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Wahed Invest LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 10.2% in the 4th quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 2,054 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $308,000 after acquiring an additional 190 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Waste Connections by 43.4% in the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,364,071 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $651,427,000 after purchasing an additional 1,320,933 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections in the 4th quarter worth about $215,000. Virtu Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth about $1,005,000. Finally, V Square Quantitative Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections during the fourth quarter valued at about $85,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.02% 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.