Proficio Capital Partners LLC Acquires New Stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Proficio Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 386,913 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $66,387,000.

Other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections in the 4th quarter valued at $27,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter valued at $40,000. Continuum Advisory LLC grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 58.0% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 226 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections in the 4th quarter valued at $39,000. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Connections Price Performance

WCN opened at $186.35 on Friday. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $180.70 and its 200 day moving average price is $182.22. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12-month low of $160.34 and a 12-month high of $194.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm has a market cap of $48.09 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.97, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.77.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly earnings results 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 net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 15.54%. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business 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 $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.72%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have issued reports on WCN. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their target price on Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Scotiabank lowered their price target on Waste Connections from $196.00 to $192.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, CIBC lowered their price target on Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Five 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.00.

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.