Kimelman & Baird LLC Reduces Stock Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Kimelman & Baird LLC cut its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 1.7% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 187,744 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,332 shares during the period. Waste Connections makes up approximately 2.6% of Kimelman & Baird LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 17th largest holding. Kimelman & Baird LLC owned about 0.07% of Waste Connections worth $32,213,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at about $552,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at about $2,503,000. Barclays PLC grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 34.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 303,040 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $54,190,000 after purchasing an additional 77,466 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 785.1% in the fourth quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,682 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $803,000 after purchasing an additional 4,153 shares during the last quarter. Finally, TCW Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 6.7% in the third quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 722,426 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $129,184,000 after purchasing an additional 45,215 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Connections Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of WCN opened at $185.49 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $47.87 billion, a PE ratio of 77.61, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81. The company’s fifty day moving average is $184.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $182.49. 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 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced 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%. Analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several analysts have recently commented on WCN shares. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. 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 research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Connections from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report 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, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $202.43.

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.