Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Hits New 52-Week Low – Here’s Why

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)’s stock price hit a new 52-week low on Tuesday . The stock traded as low as $164.37 and last traded at $165.67, with a volume of 1241819 shares. The stock had previously closed at $167.68.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $199.00 to $196.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $221.00 to $219.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Atb Cap Markets upgraded shares of Waste Connections from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, UBS Group set a $195.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have issued a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.63.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

The business’s fifty day moving average is $174.54 and its two-hundred day moving average is $183.96. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.53 billion, a PE ratio of 69.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.62.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.06. Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.65% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.35 earnings per share. Waste Connections’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Waste Connections has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 5th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, November 5th. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is 58.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Connections

In related news, Director Edward E. Guillet sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.44, for a total value of $1,569,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 14,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,596,190.52. This trade represents a 37.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Waste Connections

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Asset Dedication LLC bought a new stake in Waste Connections in the second quarter worth $28,000. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Waste Connections by 122.0% in the first quarter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. now owns 182 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. lifted its position in Waste Connections by 555.2% in the third quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 190 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 161 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Waste Connections by 994.4% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 197 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AlphaCore Capital LLC bought a new stake in Waste Connections in the second quarter worth $39,000. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.