Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Price Target Raised to $198.00

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) had its target price hoisted by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $175.00 to $198.00 in a research note issued on Monday, BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage presently has an “overweight” rating on the business services provider’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s target price would suggest a potential upside of 11.90% from the company’s previous close.

Several other analysts have also issued reports on WCN. CIBC increased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an “outperformer” rating in a research report on Friday. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, May 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $189.00 price objective for the company. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $181.00 to $191.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $196.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.28.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of WCN stock traded up $1.28 on Monday, reaching $176.94. The stock had a trading volume of 356,588 shares, compared to its average volume of 906,120. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $172.59 and its two-hundred day moving average is $166.92. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.65 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 57.44, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Connections has a 12 month low of $126.12 and a 12 month high of $182.99.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.24 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $2.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.22 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.23% and a return on equity of 15.16%. Waste Connections’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.02 EPS. On average, research analysts expect that Waste Connections will post 4.81 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Connections

In related news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 2,000 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.00, for a total transaction of $332,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,049,286. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Waste Connections news, Director Michael W. Harlan sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.59, for a total value of $251,385.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 8,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,341,390.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 2,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.00, for a total transaction of $332,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,049,286. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 4,500 shares of company stock worth $752,385 in the last quarter. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Connections

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 0.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,498,983 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,902,110,000 after acquiring an additional 88,137 shares during the last quarter. TD Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Waste Connections by 9.8% during the 4th quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 5,715,923 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $856,641,000 after buying an additional 509,929 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Waste Connections by 43.4% during the 4th quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,364,071 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $651,427,000 after buying an additional 1,320,933 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 7.3% in the 4th quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 4,104,003 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $612,605,000 after purchasing an additional 280,275 shares during the period. Finally, Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the 4th quarter valued at $592,392,000. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Company Profile

Waste Connections, Inc provides non-hazardous waste collection, transfer, disposal, and resource recovery services in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services to residential, commercial, municipal, industrial, and exploration and production (E&P) customers; landfill disposal services; and recycling services for various recyclable materials, including compost, cardboard, mixed paper, plastic containers, glass bottles, and ferrous and aluminum metals.