161 Shares in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Purchased by Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd

Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 161 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $28,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Private Trust Co. NA raised its stake in Waste Connections by 153.3% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 152 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Manchester Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the fourth quarter valued at $26,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the fourth quarter valued at about $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 59.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oarsman Capital Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 41.4% during the 4th quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 222 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WCN opened at $191.90 on Friday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $160.34 and a 1 year high of $201.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.58 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $189.33 and its 200 day simple moving average is $183.62.

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

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

WCN has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. William Blair initiated coverage on Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. StockNews.com downgraded Waste Connections from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.43.

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.