Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Rating Increased to Strong-Buy at BNP Paribas

BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) to a strong-buy rating in a research report report published on Tuesday morning,Zacks.com reports.

WCN has been the topic of several other research reports. Morgan Stanley reissued an “overweight” rating and issued a $220.00 target price (up previously from $215.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Wednesday, December 17th. Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $205.00 to $206.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price target (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Monday. Finally, Raymond James Financial set a $213.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seventeen have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $209.16.

Waste Connections Trading Down 3.3%

Shares of Waste Connections stock opened at $168.50 on Tuesday. Waste Connections has a twelve month low of $163.27 and a twelve month high of $201.66. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $172.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $177.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.09 billion, a PE ratio of 70.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.63.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.06. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 6.65%.The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.35 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Connections will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 5th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 5th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.33%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Connections news, Director Edward E. Guillet sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.44, for a total transaction of $1,569,960.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 14,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,596,190.52. This represents a 37.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Connections

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its holdings in Waste Connections by 2.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,585,284 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,552,682,000 after purchasing an additional 717,440 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Connections by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 6,501,719 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,208,669,000 after buying an additional 117,939 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 17.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 6,136,218 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,078,536,000 after acquiring an additional 918,245 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 39.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,455,162 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $783,218,000 after acquiring an additional 1,264,150 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the second quarter valued at approximately $755,938,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Company Profile

Waste Connections (NYSE: WCN) is a North American integrated waste services company that provides a range of solid waste and environmental services to municipal, commercial, industrial and residential customers. The company offers collection, transportation, transfer, disposal and recycling services, and operates an extensive network of transfer stations and disposal facilities. Waste Connections positions itself as a provider of infrastructure-driven waste solutions across many regions of the United States and Canada.

The company’s operating activities include routine curbside and commercial collection, roll-off and container services, operation of landfills and transfer stations, and recycling and resource recovery programs.