Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Reaches New 1-Year High – Still a Buy?

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) shares reached a new 52-week high on Wednesday . The stock traded as high as $194.24 and last traded at $194.24, with a volume of 159379 shares. The stock had previously closed at $193.25.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WCN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $198.00 to $197.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Raymond James cut their price objective on Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Scotiabank began coverage on Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 target price for the company. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $195.56.

Waste Connections Stock Down 0.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.07, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $182.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.32.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.05. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 10.81%. The company’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.17 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th were paid a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.65%. This is a boost from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.62%.

Institutional Trading of Waste Connections

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WCN. American Trust raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 3.7% during the second quarter. American Trust now owns 1,573 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $276,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Waste Connections by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 529 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $95,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 8.8% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 916 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $161,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 1.4% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 5,966 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,047,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the period. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 58.0% in 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 during the period. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.