Equitable Trust Co. Decreases Stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Equitable Trust Co. trimmed its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 32.2% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,907 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 5,647 shares during the quarter. Equitable Trust Co.'s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $2,043,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its position 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 valued at $344,615,000 after buying an additional 1,453,733 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 432.6% during the 3rd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,259,312 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $225,078,000 after purchasing an additional 1,022,851 shares in the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 35.3% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,678,562 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $478,777,000 after purchasing an additional 699,012 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 44.2% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,964,082 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $351,037,000 after purchasing an additional 602,055 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 199.4% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 591,250 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $105,727,000 after purchasing an additional 393,763 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Connections Price Performance

WCN stock traded up $0.23 during trading on Friday, hitting $189.08. The stock had a trading volume of 1,261,705 shares, compared to its average volume of 988,590. The company's 50 day moving average price is $179.39 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $181.54. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $160.34 and a 1-year high of $194.83. The stock has a market cap of $48.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.04). Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.81% and a return on equity of 15.43%. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have commented on WCN. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Truist Financial restated a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday. Scotiabank decreased their target price 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. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Raymond James cut their price target on Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $200.00.

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.