Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Shares Acquired by Schroder Investment Management Group

Schroder Investment Management Group boosted its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 44.2% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 401,328 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 123,016 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group owned about 0.16% of Waste Connections worth $68,695,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently weighed in on WCN. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $196.00 to $192.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.43.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of WCN opened at $195.05 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $187.47 and a two-hundred day moving average of $182.95. The stock has a market cap of $50.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 81.61, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65. Waste Connections, Inc. has a one year low of $160.34 and a one year high of $195.64.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted 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%. On average, equities research analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is 52.72%.

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.