Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Given New $196.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) had its price target boosted by equities researchers at Citigroup from $195.00 to $196.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Monday,BayStreet.CA reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Citigroup’s price target points to a potential upside of 11.31% from the company’s previous close.

WCN has been the subject of a number of other reports. CIBC dropped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 price target for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $198.00 to $197.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.75.

Waste Connections Price Performance

WCN traded up $1.28 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $176.08. 408,210 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 905,662. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $45.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.37, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.76. Waste Connections has a 52-week low of $145.35 and a 52-week high of $194.83. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $181.43 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $180.80.

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 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 period last year, the firm posted $1.17 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waste Connections will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Waste Connections

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WCN. American Century Companies Inc. raised its position in Waste Connections by 3.1% in the 2nd quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 19,876 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,485,000 after purchasing an additional 594 shares during the last quarter. Thoroughbred Financial Services LLC acquired a new position in Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter valued at $932,000. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Waste Connections by 48.7% in the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 44,872 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,869,000 after buying an additional 14,690 shares during the period. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Waste Connections by 1.4% in the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 541,572 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $94,978,000 after buying an additional 7,378 shares during the period. Finally, Dimensional Fund Advisors LP increased its stake in Waste Connections by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 386,448 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $67,770,000 after buying an additional 23,194 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other 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.