Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Shares Acquired by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 4.6% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,762 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 297 shares during the quarter. Benjamin Edwards Inc.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $1,160,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. 1248 Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the fourth quarter valued at $995,000. Visualize Group LP purchased a new position in Waste Connections in the 4th quarter valued at about $31,226,000. Wahed Invest LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 12.4% during the 4th quarter. Wahed Invest LLC now owns 3,785 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $649,000 after purchasing an additional 418 shares during the last quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV raised its position in shares of Waste Connections by 65.9% in the fourth quarter. Mercer Global Advisors Inc. ADV now owns 12,979 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,227,000 after buying an additional 5,154 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 391,062 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $67,054,000 after buying an additional 11,881 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Price Performance

WCN stock opened at $195.38 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $50.48 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $160.34 and a 1 year high of $201.66. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $192.38 and a 200-day simple moving average of $185.88.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.04 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be paid a dividend of $0.315 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WCN has been the subject of several analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Waste Connections from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $221.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Waste Connections to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $220.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price 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.