Morgan Stanley Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Stock

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) had its price target upped by stock analysts at Morgan Stanley from $214.00 to $219.00 in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has an “overweight” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective points to a potential upside of 15.83% from the company’s previous close.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $196.00 to $192.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Raymond James dropped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.00.

Waste Connections Stock Up 0.1 %

WCN stock opened at $189.08 on Friday. Waste Connections has a 52 week low of $160.34 and a 52 week high of $194.83. The company has a market capitalization of $48.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $179.36 and its two-hundred day moving average is $181.63. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.04). Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 10.81%. On average, analysts forecast that Waste Connections will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Manchester Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in Waste Connections by 153.3% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 152 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in Waste Connections by 59.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other 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.