Criterion Capital Advisors LLC Buys New Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Criterion Capital Advisors LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 4,761 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $711,000.

A number of other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Connections in the 4th quarter worth about $25,000. Headinvest LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $36,000. Operose Advisors LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Rational Advisors LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, Power Corp of Canada bought a new position in Waste Connections in the 1st quarter worth approximately $84,000. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms recently commented on WCN. CIBC raised their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $153.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Waste Connections from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, March 21st. Atb Cap Markets cut shares of Waste Connections from an "outperform" rating to a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $146.50 to $179.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $178.87.

Insider Activity at Waste Connections

In related news, Director Andrea E. Bertone sold 902 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.17, for a total transaction of $152,591.34. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of Waste Connections stock traded up $0.66 on Friday, hitting $165.02. 1,187,920 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 588,765. The company has a current ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12-month low of $126.12 and a 12-month high of $173.02. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $167.84 and its 200 day simple moving average is $151.17. The company has a market cap of $42.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 55.75, a P/E/G ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.66.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.08 by $0.03. Waste Connections had a net margin of 9.51% and a return on equity of 14.42%. The company had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.85 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 28th were issued a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is currently 38.51%.

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.