Whipplewood Advisors LLC Acquires New Shares in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Whipplewood Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 955 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $164,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in Waste Connections by 307.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,927,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $344,615,000 after acquiring an additional 1,453,733 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its stake in Waste Connections by 432.6% during the 3rd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,259,312 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $225,078,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022,851 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake in 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 valued at $478,777,000 after acquiring an additional 699,012 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its stake in Waste Connections by 44.2% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,964,082 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $351,037,000 after acquiring an additional 602,055 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its stake in Waste Connections by 199.4% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 591,250 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $105,727,000 after acquiring an additional 393,763 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Trading Down 0.8 %

Shares of NYSE WCN opened at $186.35 on Friday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a one year low of $160.34 and a one year high of $194.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.09 billion, a PE ratio of 77.97, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $180.70 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $182.22.

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

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have weighed in on WCN shares. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup lifted their target price on Waste Connections from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. 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. Truist Financial reissued 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, Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.00.

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.