Avanza Fonder AB Cuts Stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Avanza Fonder AB lowered its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 14.7% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 20,873 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,600 shares during the quarter. Avanza Fonder AB's holdings in Waste Connections were worth $4,074,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 153.3% in 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. Manchester Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Waste Connections in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in Waste Connections in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Waste Connections in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Waste Connections by 59.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on the company. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on Waste Connections from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Truist Financial set a $220.00 price objective on Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Melius began coverage on Waste Connections in a report on Monday, June 9th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Citigroup upped their target price on Waste Connections from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $212.29.

Waste Connections Stock Down 0.4%

WCN stock traded down $0.86 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $190.60. The stock had a trading volume of 494,776 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,000,299. The firm has a market cap of $49.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a 50-day moving average of $193.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $187.57. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $167.51 and a 52-week high of $201.66. 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 - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.22 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 6.92%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.04 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th were paid a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is currently 51.85%.

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.