Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) Coverage Initiated by Analysts at The Goldman Sachs Group

The Goldman Sachs Group assumed coverage on shares of Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) in a research report issued on Monday, Marketbeat reports. The brokerage set a "buy" rating and a $202.00 price target on the business services provider's stock. The Goldman Sachs Group's target price would indicate a potential upside of 14.46% from the company's previous close.

A number of other analysts have also commented on WCN. Sanford C. Bernstein assumed coverage on Waste Connections in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. National Bankshares reduced their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $211.00 to $196.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, October 7th. Citigroup lowered their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $199.00 to $196.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus cut their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $221.00 to $218.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $205.00 to $206.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Six analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $208.32.

Read Our Latest Report on WCN

Waste Connections Stock Performance

WCN stock opened at $176.48 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $171.97 and a 200 day moving average price of $181.30. 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 has a market capitalization of $45.15 billion, a PE ratio of 73.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.60.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 6.65%.The business's quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.35 EPS. Waste Connections has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts forecast that Waste Connections will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Waste Connections

In other Waste Connections news, Director Edward E. Guillet sold 9,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director owned 14,883 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,596,190.52. This represents a 37.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Connections

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WCN. Calamos Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $2,055,000. Cidel Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 3.3% in the second quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 136,991 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $25,539,000 after buying an additional 4,340 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the second quarter valued at approximately $63,385,000. Assetmark Inc. increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 84.2% during the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,413 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $264,000 after acquiring an additional 646 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 7.5% during the second quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 782,145 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $146,042,000 after acquiring an additional 54,400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.

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