Zacks Research Has Bullish Estimate for WCN FY2025 Earnings

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research increased their FY2025 EPS estimates for Waste Connections in a report issued on Tuesday, November 11th. Zacks Research analyst Team now forecasts that the business services provider will earn $5.12 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $5.05. The consensus estimate for Waste Connections’ current full-year earnings is $5.28 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Waste Connections’ Q3 2026 earnings at $1.48 EPS and Q4 2026 earnings at $1.53 EPS.

Several other research analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Wednesday. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $200.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group set a $195.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on Waste Connections from $221.00 to $218.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, National Bankshares dropped their target price on Waste Connections from $211.00 to $196.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $210.00.

Waste Connections Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE:WCN opened at $168.87 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $43.23 billion, a PE ratio of 70.36, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.60. Waste Connections has a fifty-two week low of $163.27 and a fifty-two week high of $201.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $172.87 and its two-hundred day moving average is $182.94.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.65% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The company’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.35 EPS. Waste Connections has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Connections

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. MWA Asset Management grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. MWA Asset Management now owns 4,783 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $934,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Lido Advisors LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 2.1% in the second quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 2,949 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $551,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 0.8% in the third quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 7,895 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,388,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management increased its position in Waste Connections by 6.0% during the first quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,116 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $218,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Valeo Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Waste Connections by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,052 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $757,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Waste Connections

In related news, Director Edward E. Guillet sold 9,000 shares of Waste Connections 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 transaction, the director owned 14,883 shares in the company, valued at $2,596,190.52. This trade represents a 37.68% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

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

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.