Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc. Purchases 437 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 7.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 6,124 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 437 shares during the quarter. Waste Connections accounts for about 0.1% of Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest position. Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $1,050,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the business. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the 4th quarter worth approximately $687,935,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 307.1% in the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,927,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $344,615,000 after buying an additional 1,453,733 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the 4th quarter valued at $240,422,000. Geode Capital Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 239.9% during the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 647,727 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $115,558,000 after acquiring an additional 457,137 shares during the period. Finally, Proficio Capital Partners LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections in the 4th quarter worth about $66,387,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Trading Down 5.9 %

Shares of WCN stock opened at $188.07 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $160.34 and a 52-week high of $201.66. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $188.80 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $183.31. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.59 billion, a PE ratio of 78.69, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.67.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share 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%. On average, analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WCN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Scotiabank reduced their target price 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. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Connections from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Truist Financial reissued 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target 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. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $204.00.

Waste Connections Company 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.