Values First Advisors Inc. Sells 5,154 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Values First Advisors Inc. lowered its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 57.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 3,786 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5,154 shares during the quarter. Values First Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $649,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. CWM LLC raised its stake in Waste Connections by 43.0% during the 3rd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,218 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $218,000 after acquiring an additional 366 shares during the period. Procyon Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the third quarter worth $439,000. Creative Planning raised its position in shares of Waste Connections by 2.7% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,051 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,082,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Swedbank AB raised its position in shares of Waste Connections by 40.6% during the 3rd quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 40,806 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,297,000 after purchasing an additional 11,774 shares during the period. Finally, Asset Dedication LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Waste Connections stock opened at $189.54 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Waste Connections, Inc. has a twelve month low of $153.07 and a twelve month high of $194.83. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $179.45 and its 200-day moving average price is $181.43. The company has a market cap of $48.91 billion, a PE ratio of 52.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.77.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.04). Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 10.81%. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.83 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is presently 34.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on WCN shares. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup increased their target price on Waste Connections from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. CIBC lowered their price target on Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, December 19th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target 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, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.06.

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.