Jefferies Financial Group Cuts Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Price Target to $210.00

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) had its price objective lowered by Jefferies Financial Group from $225.00 to $210.00 in a research report report published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has a buy rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other analysts also recently commented on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Scotiabank started coverage on Waste Connections in a report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Waste Connections from $206.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Eight Capital raised Waste Connections to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.31.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of WCN stock opened at $177.86 on Thursday. The company has a market cap of $45.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 48.86, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.76. 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’s 50-day moving average is $180.40 and its 200 day moving average is $180.85. Waste Connections has a 1-year low of $151.32 and a 1-year high of $194.83.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Connections

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WCN. Versor Investments LP increased its position in Waste Connections by 75.1% during the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 8,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,470,000 after buying an additional 3,527 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter worth about $552,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter valued at $2,503,000. Barclays PLC increased its position in Waste Connections by 34.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 303,040 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,190,000 after purchasing an additional 77,466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Waste Connections by 65.6% during the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,034 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $543,000 after acquiring an additional 1,202 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is currently 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.