Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Shares Acquired by Commonwealth Equity Services LLC

Commonwealth Equity Services LLC boosted its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 2.9% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 14,471 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 411 shares during the quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $2,483,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Erste Asset Management GmbH lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Erste Asset Management GmbH now owns 11,354 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,949,000 after buying an additional 96 shares during the period. Achmea Investment Management B.V. lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 7.8% during the 4th quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. now owns 14,730 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,528,000 after purchasing an additional 1,072 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,000,425 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $342,739,000 after purchasing an additional 36,343 shares during the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 9.7% in the fourth quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 6,410 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,100,000 after purchasing an additional 569 shares during the period. Finally, PFG Advisors increased its stake in Waste Connections by 0.7% in the fourth quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 16,562 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,840,000 after purchasing an additional 112 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Connections Trading Down 0.6 %

WCN opened at $191.70 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.47 billion, a P/E ratio of 80.21, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $186.54 and its 200-day moving average is $182.79. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $160.34 and a 52-week high of $194.83.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings data 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 15.54% and a net margin of 6.92%. Analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is 52.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WCN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley upped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.43.

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.