Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Coverage Initiated at Wolfe Research

Equities researchers at Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) in a note issued to investors on Friday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The firm set an “outperform” rating and a $199.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock. Wolfe Research’s price target would indicate a potential upside of 19.58% from the company’s current price.

Several other brokerages also recently weighed in on WCN. UBS Group set a $205.00 price objective on Waste Connections in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce set a $208.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $202.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank set a $197.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $203.52.

Waste Connections Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:WCN traded down $0.55 on Friday, reaching $166.41. 326,170 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,761,297. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $167.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $172.04. Waste Connections has a 52 week low of $155.65 and a 52 week high of $201.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.93, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.37 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 16.25% and a net margin of 11.37%.Waste Connections’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.16 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Connections will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Connections

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Norges Bank purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the second quarter valued at about $755,938,000. Capital International Investors lifted its holdings in Waste Connections by 28.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,468,259 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,134,781,000 after buying an additional 1,420,921 shares during the period. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in Waste Connections by 37.1% during the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,763,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $835,370,000 after acquiring an additional 1,289,042 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Waste Connections by 39.6% during the 3rd 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, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 58.1% during the 4th quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 2,900,321 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $508,600,000 after acquiring an additional 1,065,653 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.