Waste Connections (TSE:WCN) Stock Crosses Below 50 Day Moving Average of $228.23

Waste Connections, Inc. (TSE:WCN)’s share price passed below its 50-day moving average during trading on Wednesday . The stock has a 50-day moving average of C$228.23 and traded as low as C$225.34. Waste Connections shares last traded at C$226.61, with a volume of 218,371 shares changing hands.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the stock. ATB Capital raised their target price on shares of Waste Connections from C$235.00 to C$240.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Atb Cap Markets cut shares of Waste Connections from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Waste Connections from C$169.00 to C$182.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Three equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and two have given a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of C$193.10.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average price is C$228.23 and its two-hundred day moving average price is C$211.53. The company has a market cap of C$58.46 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.34, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.22 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.74 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 104.12.

Waste Connections (TSE:WCN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The company reported C$1.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of C$1.38 by C$0.02. Waste Connections had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 10.57%. The company had revenue of C$2.79 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of C$2.78 billion. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 8.8474971 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be issued a dividend of $0.385 per share. This is a boost from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.38. This represents a $1.54 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 7th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 37.65%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Senior Officer Robert Michael Cloninger sold 3,746 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$170.21, for a total transaction of C$637,613.03. In related news, Senior Officer Robert Michael Cloninger sold 3,746 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of C$170.21, for a total transaction of C$637,613.03. Also, Senior Officer Philip Rivard sold 1,250 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of C$170.21, for a total transaction of C$212,763.63. Over the last three months, insiders sold 16,496 shares of company stock worth $2,783,194. 0.22% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.