Rathbones Group PLC Grows Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Rathbones Group PLC increased its position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 1.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 669,442 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 7,866 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $117,394,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Lido Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Connections by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 2,949 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $551,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 0.8% during the third quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 7,895 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,388,000 after buying an additional 61 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC lifted its position in Waste Connections by 1.6% during the 2nd quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,052 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $757,000 after acquiring an additional 63 shares during the period. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC grew its position in Waste Connections by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 2,556 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $449,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, RDA Financial Network increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 2,459 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $431,000 after acquiring an additional 67 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 target price (down from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, January 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $213.00 target price on Waste Connections and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank set a $197.00 target price on Waste Connections and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce set a $208.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $203.52.

Waste Connections Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE WCN opened at $165.96 on Monday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $154.90 and a 52-week high of $201.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.80, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.61. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $165.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $170.00.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 16.25% and a net margin of 11.37%.The company had revenue of $2.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.16 earnings per share. Waste Connections’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is currently 33.57%.

About Waste Connections

Waste Connections (NYSE: WCN) is a North American integrated waste services company that provides a range of solid waste and environmental services to municipal, commercial, industrial and residential customers. The company offers collection, transportation, transfer, disposal and recycling services, and operates an extensive network of transfer stations and disposal facilities. Waste Connections positions itself as a provider of infrastructure-driven waste solutions across many regions of the United States and Canada.

The company’s operating activities include routine curbside and commercial collection, roll-off and container services, operation of landfills and transfer stations, and recycling and resource recovery programs.