Allstate Corp Has $3.78 Million Stock Position in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Allstate Corp grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 96.2% during the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The firm owned 21,556 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 10,571 shares during the period. Allstate Corp’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $3,780,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WCN. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 39.6% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,455,162 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $783,218,000 after purchasing an additional 1,264,150 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 17.6% during the 3rd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 6,136,218 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,078,536,000 after purchasing an additional 918,245 shares during the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,585,284 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,552,682,000 after purchasing an additional 717,440 shares during the last quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,263,918 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $222,197,000 after purchasing an additional 301,389 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Woodline Partners LP acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $50,488,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WCN opened at $151.81 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $38.75 billion, a PE ratio of 37.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $159.57 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $166.52. Waste Connections, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $148.84 and a fifty-two week high of $197.35.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 16.49% and a net margin of 10.97%.The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.13 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is currently 34.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Connections

In other news, VP James Little sold 2,605 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.98, for a total transaction of $427,167.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 34,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,640,092.10. The trade was a 7.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Eric Hansen sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.82, for a total value of $988,920.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,200,347. This trade represents a 31.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently commented on WCN. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $208.00 target price (up from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $212.00 target price on Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank set a $197.00 price target on Waste Connections and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $205.00 price target on Waste Connections and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Barclays set a $180.00 price target on Waste Connections and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $203.35.

Waste Connections Profile

Waste Connections (NYSE: WCN) is a North American integrated waste services company that provides a range of solid waste and environmental services to municipal, commercial, industrial and residential customers. The company offers collection, transportation, transfer, disposal and recycling services, and operates an extensive network of transfer stations and disposal facilities. Waste Connections positions itself as a provider of infrastructure-driven waste solutions across many regions of the United States and Canada.

The company’s operating activities include routine curbside and commercial collection, roll-off and container services, operation of landfills and transfer stations, and recycling and resource recovery programs.