KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS Invests $18.18 Million in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 105,924 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $18,176,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WCN. Manchester Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 153.3% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 152 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 59.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WCN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective 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 raised their price target on Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. CIBC decreased their price target on Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Four 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 stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.43.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

WCN opened at $189.35 on Monday. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $185.60 and a 200 day simple moving average of $182.61. The company has a market capitalization of $48.86 billion, a PE ratio of 79.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $160.34 and a 1 year high of $194.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) 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%. Research analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.315 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is 52.72%.

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.