Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Stock Price Target Cut by JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) had its target price reduced by equities research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $195.00 to $180.00 in a report issued on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the business services provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price indicates a potential upside of 16.29% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research firms have also recently commented on WCN. UBS Group raised Waste Connections from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their target price for the company from $176.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Friday, September 18th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, August 7th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Wolfe Research began coverage on Waste Connections in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $204.00 target price for the company. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.41.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Waste Connections stock traded down $0.38 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $154.78. 1,674,838 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,537,871. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.66. Waste Connections has a one year low of $146.89 and a one year high of $179.74. The stock has a market cap of $38.94 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.30, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.49. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $162.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $161.40.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.29 EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Waste Connections will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Connections news, SVP Robert Cloninger sold 2,811 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.02, for a total value of $480,737.22. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 11,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,995,119.32. The trade was a 19.42% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.57, for a total value of $416,425.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $122,262.38. The trade was a 77.30% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WCN. Royal Bank of Canada raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 12,210,661 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,983,500,000 after buying an additional 106,763 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter worth $1,061,947,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 48.7% in the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,724,204 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $604,573,000 after acquiring an additional 1,219,056 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the second quarter valued at about $510,526,000. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the second quarter valued at about $477,944,000. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

About Waste Connections

Waste Connections, Inc is a North American provider of solid waste collection, transfer, disposal, recycling and resource recovery services. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial and construction customers through local operations and provides services under municipal and other contracted arrangements.

Its business includes curbside and commercial waste collection, transfer stations, solid waste landfills, recycling facilities and organics processing. Waste Connections also provides environmental services for energy-producing customers, including the management and disposal of non-hazardous oilfield waste, and operates resource recovery and renewable energy projects in connection with certain waste facilities.

Founded in 1997, Waste Connections serves communities across the United States and Canada.