Scotia Capital Inc. Buys 36,544 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Scotia Capital Inc. raised its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 12.0% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 340,396 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 36,544 shares during the period. Scotia Capital Inc.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $58,056,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 153.3% in the 4th 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 period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its position in Waste Connections by 59.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WCN shares. CIBC dropped their price target on Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. StockNews.com cut Waste Connections from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, William Blair began coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.43.

Waste Connections Stock Up 5.4 %

Shares of WCN opened at $193.11 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.80, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.67. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52 week low of $160.34 and a 52 week high of $201.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $189.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $183.54.

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

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.72%.

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.