Allstate Corp Acquires New Stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Allstate Corp acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 7,669 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,316,000.

Several other large investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 8.8% in the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 705 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 0.4% during the 4th quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 14,247 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,445,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 59.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 58.0% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 226 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 2.3% during the 4th quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 3,943 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $676,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WCN traded up $0.24 during midday trading on Wednesday, reaching $196.75. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,470,146 shares, compared to its average volume of 920,342. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65. The company has a market cap of $50.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.32, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81. The business's 50 day moving average price is $187.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $183.03. Waste Connections, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $160.34 and a fifty-two week high of $197.74.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.04). Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 6.92%. On average, analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections's payout ratio is 52.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WCN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. CIBC decreased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com lowered Waste Connections from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $204.00.

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.