Diametric Capital LP Sells 695 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Diametric Capital LP reduced its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 28.8% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,715 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 695 shares during the period. Diametric Capital LP’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $294,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WCN. Manchester Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Waste Connections in the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Private Trust Co. NA raised its position in Waste Connections by 153.3% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 152 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in 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 acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price objective on Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. CIBC reduced their price target on Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Scotiabank dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $196.00 to $192.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Monday, January 27th. 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 report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Truist Financial reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $202.43.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of WCN opened at $196.50 on Wednesday. The firm has a market cap of $50.77 billion, a PE ratio of 82.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $160.34 and a 52-week high of $197.74. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $187.82 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $183.03. 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 (NYSE:WCN) last released 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 net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 15.54%. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. 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.