Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Position Trimmed by Stifel Financial Corp

Stifel Financial Corp trimmed its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 2.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 192,557 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5,570 shares during the quarter. Stifel Financial Corp’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $33,040,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Waste Connections in the 4th quarter worth approximately $687,935,000. FIL Ltd increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 46.2% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 7,177,724 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,231,368,000 after acquiring an additional 2,269,652 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 307.1% during 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 acquiring an additional 1,453,733 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Connections in the fourth quarter valued at about $240,422,000. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its position in Waste Connections by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,949,152 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,020,672,000 after purchasing an additional 899,058 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Connections Price Performance

NYSE WCN opened at $195.40 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $190.59 and a 200 day simple moving average of $184.71. Waste Connections, Inc. has a twelve month low of $160.34 and a twelve month high of $201.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.48 billion, a PE ratio of 81.76, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 6.92%. Research analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be issued a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WCN. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. William Blair began coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Connections from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Connections currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.43.

Waste Connections Company 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.