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

Wolfe Research started coverage on shares of Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) in a report issued on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage set an “outperform” rating and a $199.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock. Wolfe Research’s target price indicates a potential upside of 19.58% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $202.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank set a $197.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $213.00 price objective on Waste Connections and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $205.00 price objective on Waste Connections and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 target price (down from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $203.52.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

WCN stock traded down $0.55 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $166.41. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 326,170 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,761,297. The stock has a market cap of $42.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.93, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $167.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $172.04. Waste Connections has a 1 year low of $155.65 and a 1 year high of $201.66.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. The firm 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%.The business’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.16 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waste Connections will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Connections

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 55.7% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,991,112 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $350,603,000 after purchasing an additional 711,990 shares during the last quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 19.5% in the third quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 163,675 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,780,000 after buying an additional 26,684 shares in the last quarter. Fisher Funds Management LTD boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 51.2% in the third quarter. Fisher Funds Management LTD now owns 88,336 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,529,000 after buying an additional 29,925 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in Waste Connections by 770.4% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 57,519 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,112,000 after acquiring an additional 50,911 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 2.3% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 385,446 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $67,761,000 after acquiring an additional 8,725 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other 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.