Investment Management Corp of Ontario Grows Stock Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Investment Management Corp of Ontario lifted its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 9.3% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 19,895 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,700 shares during the quarter. Investment Management Corp of Ontario’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $3,558,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 307.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,927,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $344,615,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453,733 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 432.6% in the third quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,259,312 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $225,078,000 after buying an additional 1,022,851 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 44.2% in the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,964,082 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $351,037,000 after buying an additional 602,055 shares in the last quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 2nd quarter valued at about $64,176,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 252.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 510,243 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $89,477,000 after purchasing an additional 365,487 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Connections Price Performance

WCN stock opened at $191.54 on Wednesday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $182.76 and its 200 day moving average price is $179.02. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12-month low of $137.25 and a 12-month high of $194.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The company has a market capitalization of $49.43 billion, a PE ratio of 52.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.05. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.81% and a return on equity of 15.43%. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.17 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This is a boost from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price target (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 price objective on the stock. Eight Capital raised shares of Waste Connections to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $195.56.

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.