Private Trust Co. NA Raises Stock Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Private Trust Co. NA grew its position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 89.5% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 288 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 136 shares during the period. Private Trust Co. NA’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $56,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter valued at about $28,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 890.0% during the first quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 198 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $39,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 232.3% during the first quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 216 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Oarsman Capital Inc. grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 41.4% during the fourth quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 222 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $38,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Up 0.4%

Shares of NYSE WCN opened at $182.00 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The company has a market cap of $47.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.90, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.60. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.36 and a 1 year high of $201.66. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $190.29 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $187.53.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.06. Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.93% and a return on equity of 15.74%. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.04 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th were paid a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 7th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is presently 51.85%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on WCN shares. CIBC cut their price objective on Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperformer” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday. Scotiabank lifted their price target on Waste Connections from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Waste Connections from $216.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Melius started coverage on Waste Connections in a research report on Monday, June 9th. They issued a “buy” rating for the company. Finally, Citigroup lifted their price target on Waste Connections from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 29th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and four have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $213.93.

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.