Stifel Financial Corp Sells 5,570 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Stifel Financial Corp cut its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 2.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 192,557 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 5,570 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp owned 0.07% of Waste Connections worth $33,040,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth approximately $687,935,000. FIL Ltd grew its position in Waste Connections by 46.2% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 7,177,724 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,231,368,000 after buying an additional 2,269,652 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Waste Connections by 307.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,927,155 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $344,615,000 after acquiring an additional 1,453,733 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 4th quarter valued at about $240,422,000. Finally, Capital International Investors increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,949,152 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,020,672,000 after purchasing an additional 899,058 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Connections Stock Down 0.2 %

Shares of NYSE WCN traded down $0.47 during midday trading on Monday, hitting $194.00. The stock had a trading volume of 1,168,162 shares, compared to its average volume of 974,684. The company has a market cap of $50.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 81.17, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The business's 50 day moving average is $190.88 and its 200-day moving average is $185.00. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52 week low of $160.34 and a 52 week high of $201.66.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 6.92%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.04 EPS. As a group, 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 will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be paid a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is presently 51.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WCN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup decreased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $218.00 to $209.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $206.57.

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.