Westpac Banking Corp Cuts Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Westpac Banking Corp lessened its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN – Get Rating) by 7.6% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 175,247 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 14,441 shares during the quarter. Westpac Banking Corp’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $25,160,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Vestor Capital LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Ten Capital Wealth Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the 4th quarter valued at about $54,000. Lindbrook Capital LLC increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 1,279.4% during the 4th quarter. Lindbrook Capital LLC now owns 938 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $128,000 after acquiring an additional 870 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Whittier Trust Co. increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 202.5% during the 4th quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 983 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $134,000 after acquiring an additional 658 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 81.80% of the company’s stock.

Shares of WCN stock opened at $137.97 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $35.48 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 58.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.76. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $135.66 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $132.17. Waste Connections, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $115.75 and a fifty-two week high of $145.62. The company has a quick ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.73.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN – Get Rating) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 16th. The business services provider reported $0.83 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.81 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $1.62 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $1.59 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.05% and a return on equity of 12.23%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 16.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $0.68 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 3.73 EPS for the current fiscal year.

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 16th. Investors of record on Wednesday, March 2nd were paid a $0.181 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, March 1st. This represents a $0.72 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.52%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.82%.

Several research firms have weighed in on WCN. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $147.00 to $148.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. began coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Tuesday, March 1st. They set an “overweight” rating for the company. Scotiabank cut shares of Waste Connections from a “sector outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating and set a $135.00 price target on the stock. in a research note on Thursday, April 7th. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $145.00 to $160.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 22nd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets decreased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $149.00 to $142.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, February 18th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, eight have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $142.38.

About Waste Connections (Get Rating)

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.

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