Nebula Research & Development LLC Reduces Stock Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Nebula Research & Development LLC cut its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 93.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,282 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 17,125 shares during the quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC's holdings in Waste Connections were worth $220,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WCN. Private Trust Co. NA raised its holdings 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 during the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 59.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WCN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Waste Connections from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Truist Financial set a $220.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $221.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Waste Connections from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded Waste Connections from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $208.21.

Waste Connections Price Performance

WCN stock traded up $0.14 during midday trading on Tuesday, reaching $198.06. The stock had a trading volume of 333,467 shares, compared to its average volume of 971,062. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $160.34 and a 52-week high of $201.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $191.90 and its 200 day simple moving average is $185.61. The company has a market cap of $51.17 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 82.84, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.66.

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

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be issued a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is presently 51.85%.

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.