Erste Asset Management GmbH Buys 96 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Erste Asset Management GmbH lifted its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 0.9% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 11,354 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 96 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $1,949,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections in the fourth quarter valued at about $26,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 153.3% in the 4th quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 152 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 59.7% during the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have weighed in on WCN shares. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Connections from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. CIBC lowered their price objective on Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley upped their target price 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 increased their price target on Waste Connections from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Scotiabank dropped their price target on Waste Connections from $196.00 to $192.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $202.43.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

WCN opened at $185.49 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12-month low of $160.34 and a 12-month high of $194.83. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $184.10 and a two-hundred day moving average of $182.54. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.87 billion, a PE ratio of 77.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.04). Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 6.92%. On average, analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.72%.

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.