Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Price Target Raised to $219.00 at Morgan Stanley

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) had its target price increased by Morgan Stanley from $214.00 to $219.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has an “overweight” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective would indicate a potential upside of 14.96% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts also recently issued research reports about the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $198.00 to $197.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Scotiabank cut their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $196.00 to $192.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. 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, Waste Connections presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.38.

Waste Connections Stock Up 0.9 %

NYSE WCN traded up $1.65 on Friday, hitting $190.50. 231,415 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 952,422. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Waste Connections has a fifty-two week low of $160.34 and a fifty-two week high of $194.83. The company has a market cap of $49.16 billion, a PE ratio of 52.40, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $179.39 and a 200-day moving average price of $181.54.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.04). Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.81% and a return on equity of 15.43%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Connections will post 4.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Waste Connections

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 705 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 0.4% during the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 14,247 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,445,000 after buying an additional 63 shares in the last quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 41.4% during the fourth quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 222 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 59.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 58.0% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 226 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

About Waste Connections

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.