Xponance Inc. Boosts Stock Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Xponance Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 14.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 13,980 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,772 shares during the period. Xponance Inc.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $2,399,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. FMR LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Connections by 0.6% during the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,313,725 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $950,055,000 after acquiring an additional 30,890 shares in the last quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 0.9% during the fourth quarter. Alphinity Investment Management Pty Ltd now owns 3,332,826 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $571,846,000 after purchasing an additional 29,542 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 35.3% during the 3rd 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. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 2,303,339 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $401,936,000 after buying an additional 309,619 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 5.7% in the 4th quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,036,856 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $349,483,000 after buying an additional 109,701 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Connections Trading Down 0.3 %

NYSE WCN opened at $189.35 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.22, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $160.34 and a 52-week high of $194.83. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $185.60 and a 200 day moving average price of $182.64.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its 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 return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 6.92%. Equities research analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were 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 was Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently commented on WCN shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. CIBC reduced their target price on Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Scotiabank dropped their price target on 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. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.