Lewis Asset Management LLC Reduces Stock Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Lewis Asset Management LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 7.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 1,494 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 124 shares during the period. Lewis Asset Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $267,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WCN. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 6.2% during the first quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 144,756 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $24,899,000 after purchasing an additional 8,505 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 17.5% during the 1st quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 58,066 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,988,000 after buying an additional 8,632 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 317,220 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $54,565,000 after buying an additional 3,106 shares in the last quarter. Gradient Investments LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 11.0% in the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 65,052 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $11,408,000 after buying an additional 6,432 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Choate Investment Advisors grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 167.8% in the 1st quarter. Choate Investment Advisors now owns 45,373 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,805,000 after buying an additional 28,432 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have issued reports on WCN. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Raymond James reduced their price objective on Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen raised their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 11th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $195.56.

Waste Connections Trading Up 1.6 %

Shares of WCN stock opened at $181.90 on Friday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $180.88 and its 200 day moving average price is $175.85. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.94 billion, a PE ratio of 49.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $129.31 and a 1-year high of $187.54.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.05. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.81% and a return on equity of 15.43%. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.17 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.69%. This is an increase from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 31.32%.

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.