Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Shares Acquired by National Bank of Canada FI

National Bank of Canada FI increased its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 6.0% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 2,582,393 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 147,271 shares during the quarter. Waste Connections comprises 0.6% of National Bank of Canada FI’s portfolio, making the stock its 26th largest position. National Bank of Canada FI owned about 1.00% of Waste Connections worth $383,189,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Waste Connections by 3.4% during the 3rd quarter. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. now owns 26,254 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,526,000 after purchasing an additional 856 shares in the last quarter. Dakota Wealth Management grew its stake in Waste Connections by 14.1% during the 3rd quarter. Dakota Wealth Management now owns 3,847 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $519,000 after purchasing an additional 474 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James & Associates grew its stake in Waste Connections by 8.5% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 403,972 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $54,253,000 after purchasing an additional 31,709 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Waste Connections by 5.6% during the 3rd quarter. Raymond James Financial Services Advisors Inc. now owns 85,032 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $11,420,000 after purchasing an additional 4,509 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of New York Mellon Corp grew its stake in Waste Connections by 40.1% during the 3rd quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 664,992 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $89,309,000 after purchasing an additional 190,485 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WCN traded up $0.82 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $164.18. The company had a trading volume of 722,254 shares, compared to its average volume of 924,834. The stock has a market cap of $42.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.31, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.67. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12 month low of $126.12 and a 12 month high of $173.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $167.81 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $152.80.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.05 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 9.70%. The business’s revenue was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be paid a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 7th. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is currently 37.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WCN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on Waste Connections from $153.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on Waste Connections from $196.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their target price on Waste Connections from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. BMO Capital Markets increased their target price on Waste Connections from $182.00 to $186.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Waste Connections from $136.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, January 18th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.33.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Connections

In other Waste Connections news, Director Andrea E. Bertone sold 902 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.17, for a total transaction of $152,591.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.