Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Shares Bought by Prana Capital Management LP

Prana Capital Management LP lifted its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 10.3% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 49,867 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,663 shares during the period. Prana Capital Management LP's holdings in Waste Connections were worth $8,556,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Barclays PLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 34.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 303,040 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $54,190,000 after buying an additional 77,466 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 2,036,856 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $349,483,000 after buying an additional 109,701 shares during the period. Mechanics Bank Trust Department purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the fourth quarter worth about $353,000. Merit Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the fourth quarter worth about $316,000. Finally, Apollon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the fourth quarter worth about $370,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Waste Connections from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their price objective on Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $220.00 price objective on Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $208.21.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of WCN traded up $0.97 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $191.94. 1,286,979 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 993,355. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $192.60 and a 200-day moving average of $186.37. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52 week low of $160.34 and a 52 week high of $201.66. The stock has a market cap of $49.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.31, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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 net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The business had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.04 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 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 0.66%. The ex-dividend date is 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.