JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Stock Price

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) had its target price increased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $197.00 to $230.00 in a report published on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has an overweight rating on the business services provider’s stock.

WCN has been the subject of several other research reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Waste Connections to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Wall Street Zen cut shares of Waste Connections from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $212.23.

Waste Connections Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of WCN opened at $196.67 on Friday. Waste Connections has a 12 month low of $160.34 and a 12 month high of $201.66. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $193.58 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $186.92. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market cap of $50.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.66.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.06. Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.04 EPS. Waste Connections’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Waste Connections will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th were given a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 7th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is 51.85%.

Institutional Trading of Waste Connections

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Waste Connections by 34.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 303,040 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $54,190,000 after purchasing an additional 77,466 shares during the period. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $316,000. Atomi Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Waste Connections by 39.1% in the 4th quarter. Atomi Financial Group Inc. now owns 3,485 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $598,000 after buying an additional 980 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC grew its stake in Waste Connections by 21.5% in the 4th quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 83,108 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,260,000 after buying an additional 14,721 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Fifth Third Bancorp grew its stake in Waste Connections by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 705 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $121,000 after buying an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. 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.