First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. Purchases 1,329 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

First Trust Direct Indexing L.P. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 46.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 4,168 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,329 shares during the quarter. First Trust Direct Indexing L.P.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $622,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Pacifica Partners Inc. bought a new position in Waste Connections in the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Headinvest LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter worth about $36,000. Operose Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Rational Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at about $41,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC bought a new stake in Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth about $61,000. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Andrea E. Bertone sold 902 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.17, for a total value of $152,591.34. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WCN opened at $164.18 on Friday. The business’s 50 day moving average is $167.69 and its 200-day moving average is $152.98. The firm has a market cap of $42.36 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.67. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $126.12 and a 1-year high of $173.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.05 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 9.70%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. Equities research analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be issued a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 7th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.01%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WCN shares. CIBC raised their price target on Waste Connections from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. UBS Group cut shares of Waste Connections from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their target price for the company from $170.00 to $181.00 in a research note on Thursday, February 29th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $136.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $146.50 to $179.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $182.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $179.33.

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.