Natixis Advisors LLC Trims Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Natixis Advisors LLC cut its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 2.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 193,858 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,422 shares during the quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $33,262,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the business. Manchester Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections in the fourth quarter worth $26,000. Private Trust Co. NA grew its stake in Waste Connections by 153.3% in the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 152 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after purchasing an additional 92 shares during the period. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections in the fourth quarter worth $27,000. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its stake in Waste Connections by 59.7% in the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections in the fourth quarter worth $39,000. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Connections Stock Up 1.2 %

WCN stock opened at $185.49 on Monday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $160.34 and a fifty-two week high of $194.83. The business’s 50-day moving average is $184.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $182.49. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65. The company has a market cap of $47.87 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 77.61, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share 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%. As a group, analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on WCN shares. StockNews.com cut 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 Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. CIBC cut their target price on Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Scotiabank cut their target price on Waste Connections from $196.00 to $192.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.43.

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.