JPMorgan Chase & Co. Trims Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Target Price to $197.00

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) had its price objective cut by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $198.00 to $197.00 in a research report report published on Friday morning, Benzinga reports. They currently have an overweight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on WCN. Citigroup boosted their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. CIBC boosted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an “outperformer” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $195.56.

Waste Connections Stock Down 1.5 %

WCN stock opened at $175.80 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $45.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.63, a P/E/G ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Connections has a 52 week low of $126.12 and a 52 week high of $187.54. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $181.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $175.22. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted 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 firm had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 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 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.17 earnings per share. Equities analysts forecast that Waste Connections will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 21st. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This is an increase from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.72%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.13%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Connections

In other Waste Connections news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.15, for a total value of $180,150.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $778,428.15. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. In other news, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.75, for a total value of $401,925.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 1,226 shares in the company, valued at approximately $214,243.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.15, for a total transaction of $180,150.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 4,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $778,428.15. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 21,600 shares of company stock valued at $3,842,550. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Sei Investments Co. boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 6.2% during the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 144,756 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $24,899,000 after purchasing an additional 8,505 shares during the period. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 591.5% during the 1st quarter. Capstone Investment Advisors LLC now owns 9,881 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,700,000 after purchasing an additional 8,452 shares during the period. Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new stake in Waste Connections during the 1st quarter worth $2,986,000. SG Americas Securities LLC boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 17.5% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 58,066 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,988,000 after purchasing an additional 8,632 shares during the period. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 317,220 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,565,000 after acquiring an additional 3,106 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.