By otakuyassine3@gmail.com 
Van ECK Associates Corp increased its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN – Free Report) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 47,873 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,479 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $8,214,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.
A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WCN. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $344,615,000 after buying an additional 1,453,733 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased 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 buying an additional 1,022,851 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in shares of 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 worth $478,777,000 after buying an additional 699,012 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 44.2% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,964,082 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $351,037,000 after buying an additional 602,055 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 199.4% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 591,250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $105,727,000 after buying an additional 393,763 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.
Waste Connections Stock Performance
WCN stock opened at $189.08 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $48.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.94, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $179.36 and a 200 day simple moving average of $181.67. Waste Connections, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $160.34 and a fifty-two week high of $194.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.
Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN – Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.04). Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 10.81%. Sell-side analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Waste Connections Announces Dividend
The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is 34.62%.
Wall Street Analyst Weigh In
A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WCN. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday. CIBC lowered their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.00.
View Our Latest Stock Report on Waste Connections
Waste Connections 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.
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