Raymond James Financial Inc. Acquires New Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund acquired 1,401,224 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $240,422,000.

Other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Private Trust Co. NA increased its stake in Waste Connections by 153.3% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 152 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Waste Connections by 59.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $39,000. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WCN opened at $185.72 on Friday. The firm’s 50-day moving average price is $182.42 and its 200-day moving average price is $182.51. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $160.34 and a 1-year high of $194.83. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.93 billion, a P/E ratio of 77.71, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 6.92% and a return on equity of 15.54%. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have weighed in on WCN. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. CIBC decreased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, 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 note on Monday, January 27th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.43.

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.