Zacks Research Expects Lower Earnings for Waste Connections

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research cut their Q4 2024 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Waste Connections in a report issued on Wednesday, November 13th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the business services provider will post earnings of $1.20 per share for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $1.22. The consensus estimate for Waste Connections’ current full-year earnings is $4.84 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Waste Connections’ Q3 2026 earnings at $1.57 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $6.06 EPS.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year.

Several other brokerages also recently issued reports on WCN. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. TD Cowen upped their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Eight Capital raised Waste Connections to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. CIBC boosted their price objective on Waste Connections from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an “outperformer” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Scotiabank started coverage on Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $195.56.

Waste Connections Trading Down 2.0 %

NYSE:WCN opened at $183.83 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $180.83 and a 200 day simple moving average of $176.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Waste Connections has a 12-month low of $130.33 and a 12-month high of $188.30.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were paid a dividend of $0.315 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. This is a positive change from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.62%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Connections

Institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Versor Investments LP lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 75.1% in the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 8,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,470,000 after purchasing an additional 3,527 shares in the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 317,220 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,565,000 after acquiring an additional 3,106 shares in the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Waste Connections by 65.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,034 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $543,000 after acquiring an additional 1,202 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC grew its stake in Waste Connections by 11.0% during the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 65,052 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $11,408,000 after acquiring an additional 6,432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,319,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Company Profile

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.