Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. Buys 36,343 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. lifted its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 1.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,000,425 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 36,343 shares during the period. Waste Connections makes up about 1.5% of Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.’s portfolio, making the stock its 14th largest position. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned approximately 0.78% of Waste Connections worth $342,739,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of WCN. Impax Asset Management Group plc acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the third quarter valued at about $54,800,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Waste Connections by 307.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,927,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $344,615,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453,733 shares during the last quarter. Assetmark Inc. increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 93.1% in the 3rd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 504 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $90,000 after buying an additional 243 shares during the period. Atria Investments Inc increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 12.8% in the third quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 11,508 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,058,000 after acquiring an additional 1,306 shares during the period. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its position in Waste Connections by 65.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,034 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $543,000 after purchasing an additional 1,202 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WCN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, December 13th. Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price target (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Scotiabank decreased their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $196.00 to $192.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, January 27th. CIBC cut their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.43.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

NYSE:WCN opened at $184.26 on Wednesday. The company’s 50-day moving average is $183.31 and its two-hundred day moving average is $182.53. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.55 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.10, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $160.34 and a 1-year high of $194.83.

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 15.54% and a net margin of 6.92%. Analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

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

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.