SG Americas Securities LLC Lowers Stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

SG Americas Securities LLC cut its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 19.8% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 101,511 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 25,126 shares during the period. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $19,814,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WCN. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,036,856 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $349,483,000 after acquiring an additional 109,701 shares in the last quarter. Apollon Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections during the 4th quarter valued at $370,000. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 30.8% in the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,521 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $604,000 after acquiring an additional 829 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 14.9% in the 4th quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 508,810 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $86,471,000 after acquiring an additional 65,844 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Palumbo Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter valued at $479,000. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

NYSE:WCN opened at $189.09 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $48.86 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.12, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.62. 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, Inc. has a twelve month low of $165.20 and a twelve month high of $201.66. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $193.60 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $187.59.

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

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th were paid a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 7th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have weighed in on WCN shares. Seaport Res Ptn raised Waste Connections to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Melius began coverage on Waste Connections in a research note on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Scotiabank lifted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Melius Research initiated coverage on Waste Connections in a report on Monday. They issued a “buy” rating and a $213.00 price target on the stock. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $212.29.

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.