Short Interest in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Rises By 20.2%

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 2,620,000 shares, an increase of 20.2% from the January 31st total of 2,180,000 shares. Currently, 1.0% of the company's stock are short sold. Based on an average daily volume of 1,000,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 2.6 days.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Versor Investments LP increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 75.1% during the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 8,221 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,470,000 after acquiring an additional 3,527 shares in the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $552,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $2,503,000. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 34.3% during the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 303,040 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $54,190,000 after acquiring an additional 77,466 shares during the period. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 65.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,034 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $543,000 after acquiring an additional 1,202 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have issued reports on WCN. Truist Financial reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 target price (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. 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 research report on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their price objective on Waste Connections from $196.00 to $192.00 and set a "sector perform" rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. Four investment 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's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $202.43.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WCN traded up $2.59 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $188.35. 1,366,213 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 877,080. The company has a market capitalization of $48.61 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.81, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81. Waste Connections has a 1 year low of $160.34 and a 1 year high of $194.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The company's 50-day moving average is $182.76 and its two-hundred day moving average is $182.55.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 15.54%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Connections will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is presently 52.72%.

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.