Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Shares Sold by Guardian Capital LP

Guardian Capital LP lowered its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 3.8% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 17,961 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 717 shares during the quarter. Guardian Capital LP’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $3,080,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WCN. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Waste Connections by 307.1% in 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 during the period. Barclays PLC grew its position in Waste Connections by 34.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 303,040 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,190,000 after acquiring an additional 77,466 shares during the period. Virtu Financial LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $1,586,000. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter valued at $188,000. Finally, Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 2.0% during the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 7,786 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,392,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Trading Up 0.7 %

NYSE WCN opened at $195.50 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.80, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.67. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $160.34 and a 52-week high of $201.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $191.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $185.16. 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 posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.22 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.04 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be issued a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.85%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WCN has been the subject of a number of recent research reports. William Blair began coverage on Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Truist Financial set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Connections from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.21.

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.