Avantax Advisory Services Inc. Decreases Stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Avantax Advisory Services Inc. reduced its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 17.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,055 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 636 shares during the quarter. Avantax Advisory Services Inc.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $524,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position in Waste Connections by 307.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,927,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $344,615,000 after acquiring an additional 1,453,733 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the fourth quarter worth about $240,422,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 432.6% in the third quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,259,312 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $225,078,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022,851 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its holdings in Waste Connections by 35.3% in the third quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,678,562 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $478,777,000 after purchasing an additional 699,012 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its stake in Waste Connections by 199.4% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 591,250 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $105,727,000 after purchasing an additional 393,763 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WCN shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $196.00 to $192.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.43.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WCN opened at $189.35 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $185.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $182.62. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.86 billion, a PE ratio of 79.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $160.34 and a 1-year high of $194.83.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.04). Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 15.54%. On average, research analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is currently 52.72%.

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.