Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) have earned a consensus rating of “Buy” from the twenty-seven analysts that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation, seventeen have given a buy recommendation and six have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $207.0526.

A number of equities analysts recently commented on WCN shares. BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on Waste Connections in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. BNP Paribas upgraded shares of Waste Connections to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $186.00 target price on the stock. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated 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 on the stock.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

NYSE WCN opened at $167.27 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $42.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.70, a PEG ratio of 3.02 and a beta of 0.63. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. Waste Connections has a twelve month low of $162.06 and a twelve month high of $201.66. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $172.66 and a 200 day simple moving average of $176.62.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 6.65%.The business’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.35 EPS. Sell-side analysts expect that Waste Connections will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Connections news, Director Edward E. Guillet sold 9,000 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.44, for a total value of $1,569,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 14,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,596,190.52. The trade was a 37.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.28% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Waste Connections

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections during the third quarter worth $26,000. Asset Dedication LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the second quarter valued at about $28,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 555.2% in the 3rd quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 190 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the period. Finally, AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new stake in Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter valued at about $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

About Waste Connections

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.