Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ Invests $14.50 Million in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Lansforsakringar Fondforvaltning AB publ bought a new stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 84,488 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $14,496,000.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. Private Trust Co. NA lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 153.3% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 152 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have commented on WCN. Royal Bank of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and set a $221.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Truist Financial set a $220.00 price objective on Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. William Blair assumed coverage on Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Finally, Wall Street Zen lowered Waste Connections from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and three have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $212.23.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WCN traded up $2.87 during trading on Friday, hitting $197.26. 1,968,018 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,010,369. The stock has a market capitalization of $50.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.54, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.66. The business's fifty day moving average is $194.10 and its 200-day moving average is $187.37. Waste Connections, Inc. has a one year low of $161.13 and a one year high of $201.66. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.06. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 6.92%. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.22 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.04 EPS. The firm's revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th were given a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 7th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.85%.

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.