CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co Sells 4,322 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co cut its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 3.1% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 133,890 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,322 shares during the period. CANADA LIFE ASSURANCE Co’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $22,899,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. Manchester Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections during the 4th quarter valued at about $26,000. Private Trust Co. NA grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 153.3% during the fourth quarter. Private Trust Co. NA now owns 152 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 92 shares during the last quarter. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Waste Connections in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Waste Connections by 59.7% in the 4th quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $33,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on WCN shares. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Waste Connections from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. William Blair started coverage on Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $218.00 to $209.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Morgan Stanley raised their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.43.

Waste Connections Price Performance

NYSE WCN opened at $197.32 on Friday. 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 business’s fifty day moving average is $190.18 and its 200 day moving average is $184.37. The company has a market capitalization of $50.98 billion, a PE ratio of 82.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.67. Waste Connections, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $160.34 and a fifty-two week high of $201.66.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its earnings results 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%. Sell-side analysts predict 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, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were issued a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 52.72%.

Waste Connections 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.