Allstate Corp Acquires New Stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Allstate Corp bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 7,669 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,316,000.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 153.3% during the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 152 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 59.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC acquired a new position in Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Waste Connections stock opened at $192.80 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $49.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.67, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12 month low of $160.34 and a 12 month high of $194.83. The stock’s 50 day moving average is $187.14 and its 200-day moving average is $182.89.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) 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 15.54% 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 disclosed 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 0.65%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts have issued reports on WCN shares. 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 note on Thursday, January 30th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on 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 raised their price target on Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective 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. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.43.

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.