Fisher Funds Management LTD Makes New Investment in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Fisher Funds Management LTD purchased a new position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor purchased 40,576 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,947,000.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versor Investments LP lifted its holdings in Waste Connections by 75.1% in the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 8,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,470,000 after purchasing an additional 3,527 shares in the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at about $552,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the third quarter worth about $2,503,000. Barclays PLC boosted its position in Waste Connections by 34.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 303,040 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,190,000 after acquiring an additional 77,466 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its stake 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 valued at $543,000 after acquiring an additional 1,202 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of WCN stock opened at $187.41 on Friday. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $179.73 and its 200-day moving average price is $182.01. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65. Waste Connections, Inc. has a one year low of $160.34 and a one year high of $194.83. The firm has a market cap of $48.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.77.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings results 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 return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 6.92%. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.72%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WCN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup upped their target price on Waste Connections from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price 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, Truist Financial reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, February 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.00.

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.