Guardian Partners Inc. Buys Shares of 14,927 Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Guardian Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund purchased 14,927 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,626,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WCN. Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the third quarter valued at $552,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,503,000. Barclays PLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 34.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 303,040 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $54,190,000 after buying an additional 77,466 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its position in Waste Connections by 785.1% in the 4th quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 4,682 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $803,000 after acquiring an additional 4,153 shares during the period. Finally, TCW Group Inc. raised its stake in Waste Connections by 6.7% during the 3rd quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 722,426 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $129,184,000 after acquiring an additional 45,215 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Waste Connections Trading Up 1.1 %

NYSE WCN traded up $2.14 on Tuesday, hitting $193.07. 872,978 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 882,272. The company's 50-day moving average price is $185.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $182.65. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $160.34 and a 52-week high of $194.83. The company has a market capitalization of $49.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.78, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81.

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

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is currently 52.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WCN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com lowered Waste Connections from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $196.00 to $192.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $202.43.

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.