Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Stock Holdings Lifted by Values First Advisors Inc.

Values First Advisors Inc. lifted its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 13.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 8,940 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,063 shares during the quarter. Values First Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $1,600,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Waste Connections by 1,167.4% during the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 473,422 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $83,020,000 after buying an additional 436,067 shares during the period. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI grew its stake in Waste Connections by 438.5% during the 1st quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 535,471 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $92,106,000 after acquiring an additional 436,041 shares in the last quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter valued at about $64,176,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 252.5% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 510,243 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $89,477,000 after purchasing an additional 365,487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Assenagon Asset Management S.A. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 4,567.2% during the second quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 253,567 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $44,466,000 after purchasing an additional 248,134 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Down 1.0 %

NYSE:WCN opened at $178.60 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12-month low of $126.12 and a 12-month high of $187.54. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $182.16 and its 200-day simple moving average is $175.05. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.99, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.05. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.23% and a return on equity of 15.16%. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.17 EPS. Waste Connections’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Equities research analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be paid a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. This is a boost from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is presently 37.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total transaction of $2,902,215.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 48,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,706,466.95. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. In other news, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.75, for a total transaction of $401,925.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,226 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $214,243.50. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total value of $2,902,215.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 48,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,706,466.95. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,600 shares of company stock worth $3,842,550 over the last ninety days. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WCN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $196.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen raised their target price on Waste Connections from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $194.19.

About Waste Connections

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.