Paragon Advisors LLC Sells 425 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Paragon Advisors LLC reduced its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 4.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 10,115 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 425 shares during the period. Paragon Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $1,974,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Private Trust Co. NA boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 153.3% in the 4th 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 last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 4th quarter worth $26,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth $27,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Connections by 59.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

WCN opened at $188.99 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $193.81 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $187.58. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $165.20 and a 1 year high of $201.66. The company has a market capitalization of $48.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.62. 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 (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 6.92%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.04 EPS. Equities analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 7th were given a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 7th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have weighed in on the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. National Bank Financial upgraded Waste Connections to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, May 26th. William Blair assumed coverage on Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Melius Research assumed coverage on Waste Connections in a report on Monday. They set a “buy” rating and a $213.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Truist Financial set a $220.00 target price on Waste Connections in a report on Friday, April 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and three have issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $212.29.

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.