First Affirmative Financial Network Has $351,000 Stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

First Affirmative Financial Network decreased its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 11.3% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,798 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 230 shares during the quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $351,000 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. Private Trust Co. NA raised 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 valued at $26,000 after buying an additional 92 shares in the last quarter. Manchester Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of 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 buying an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Connections Trading Down 1.0%

WCN opened at $190.21 on Friday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $165.20 and a fifty-two week high of $201.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.14 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 79.58, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.66. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $193.97 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $187.59.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.06. Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 15.54%. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.04 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th were paid 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 was Wednesday, May 7th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Waste Connections to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 26th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $221.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Wall Street Zen cut shares of Waste Connections from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $197.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and three have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $212.23.

About Waste Connections

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.