Erste Asset Management GmbH Boosts Stock Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Erste Asset Management GmbH lifted its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 11,354 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 96 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $1,949,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. Impax Asset Management Group plc purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter worth about $54,800,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 1,453,733 shares in the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 93.1% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 504 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $90,000 after purchasing an additional 243 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc boosted its position in Waste Connections by 12.8% during the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 11,508 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,058,000 after purchasing an additional 1,306 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 0.5% in the third quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 292,005 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $52,216,000 after purchasing an additional 1,332 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on WCN shares. Morgan Stanley upped their target price on 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 restated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.43.

Waste Connections Price Performance

NYSE:WCN opened at $185.49 on Friday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a one year low of $160.34 and a one year high of $194.83. The stock has a market cap of $47.87 billion, a PE ratio of 77.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81. 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 stock has a 50 day moving average price of $184.10 and a 200 day moving average price of $182.54.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its 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 return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 6.92%. Equities research analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is 52.72%.

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.