Metis Global Partners LLC Purchases 431 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Metis Global Partners LLC increased its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 9.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 5,066 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 431 shares during the quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $869,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 9.4% during the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 2,738 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $490,000 after acquiring an additional 235 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 5.5% during the third quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,575 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $818,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 3.5% during the third quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 23,401 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,185,000 after purchasing an additional 794 shares during the period. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. boosted its holdings in Waste Connections by 22.6% during the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 87,110 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,577,000 after purchasing an additional 16,035 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 15.3% in the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 567,453 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $101,472,000 after purchasing an additional 75,119 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Price Performance

WCN opened at $190.80 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $181.79 and its 200-day simple moving average is $182.43. Waste Connections, Inc. has a one year low of $160.34 and a one year high of $194.83. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 79.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.77.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 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%. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is 52.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms recently commented on WCN. 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. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Connections from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, CIBC reduced their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has 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 an average target price of $202.43.

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.