Inspire Advisors LLC Raises Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Inspire Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 2.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 3,943 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 87 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $676,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 8.8% during the 4th quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 705 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $121,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC increased its stake 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 worth $2,445,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 59.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 58.0% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 226 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kingsview Wealth Management LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Connections by 6.3% in the 3rd quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,515 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $271,000 after buying an additional 90 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

NYSE WCN opened at $184.26 on Wednesday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $160.34 and a 52-week high of $194.83. 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 capitalization of $47.55 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.10, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a fifty day moving average of $183.31 and a 200-day moving average of $182.53.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) 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 analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.04). Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 6.92%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a dividend of $0.315 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is 52.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WCN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report 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. CIBC cut their price objective 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. 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 report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $196.00 to $192.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a 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 issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $202.43.

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.