QRG Capital Management Inc. Boosts Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

QRG Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 10.9% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 15,373 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 1,514 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $2,637,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WCN. Manchester Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth approximately $27,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth approximately $39,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC raised its position in Waste Connections by 58.0% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 226 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently commented on the stock. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $196.00 to $192.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Waste Connections from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their target price on Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.43.

Waste Connections Price Performance

NYSE:WCN opened at $189.72 on Friday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12-month low of $160.34 and a 12-month high of $194.83. The firm has a market cap of $48.96 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.77. The company’s 50-day moving average is $181.01 and its two-hundred day moving average is $182.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.04). Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 15.54%. Research analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. 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.