Atb Cap Markets Issues Optimistic Forecast for WCN Earnings

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) – Research analysts at Atb Cap Markets lifted their FY2024 earnings estimates for shares of Waste Connections in a note issued to investors on Thursday, October 24th. Atb Cap Markets analyst C. Murray now forecasts that the business services provider will post earnings of $4.82 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $4.80. The consensus estimate for Waste Connections’ current full-year earnings is $4.82 per share. Atb Cap Markets also issued estimates for Waste Connections’ Q1 2026 earnings at $1.23 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $1.55 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $1.59 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $5.89 EPS.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.23% and a return on equity of 15.16%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.17 earnings per share.

WCN has been the topic of several other reports. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Eight Capital upgraded shares of Waste Connections to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Waste Connections from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Waste Connections presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $195.56.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of WCN opened at $175.80 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market cap of $45.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.63, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.72. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $181.95 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $175.22. Waste Connections has a twelve month low of $126.12 and a twelve month high of $187.54.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.315 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. This is a positive change from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is presently 34.13%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Connections

In other Waste Connections news, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total transaction of $2,902,215.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 48,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,706,466.95. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In related news, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total value of $2,902,215.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 48,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,706,466.95. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.15, for a total transaction of $180,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $778,428.15. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold a total of 21,600 shares of company stock valued at $3,842,550 in the last ninety days. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Connections

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. American Trust increased its stake 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 buying an additional 56 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 15.0% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 529 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $95,000 after buying an additional 69 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Waste Connections by 8.8% during the 2nd 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 during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its position in 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 valued at $1,047,000 after buying an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 116.2% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is owned by 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.