Legal & General Group Plc Grows Stock Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Legal & General Group Plc raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 14.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,254,625 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 160,024 shares during the quarter. Legal & General Group Plc owned about 0.49% of Waste Connections worth $220,497,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WCN. CIBC Asset Management Inc increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 55.7% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,991,112 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $350,603,000 after buying an additional 711,990 shares during the period. Cidel Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 19.5% in the third quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 163,675 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,780,000 after acquiring an additional 26,684 shares during the period. Fisher Funds Management LTD boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 51.2% in the third quarter. Fisher Funds Management LTD now owns 88,336 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,529,000 after acquiring an additional 29,925 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its stake in Waste Connections by 770.4% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 57,519 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,112,000 after acquiring an additional 50,911 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service grew its stake in Waste Connections by 2.3% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 385,446 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $67,761,000 after acquiring an additional 8,725 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of Waste Connections stock opened at $167.05 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.71 billion, a PE ratio of 40.06, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12 month low of $155.65 and a 12 month high of $201.66. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $167.80 and its 200-day moving average price is $172.04.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 16.25% and a net margin of 11.37%.The business had revenue of $2.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.16 earnings per share. Waste Connections’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 25th. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is presently 33.57%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have issued reports on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $205.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $213.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on Waste Connections in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Waste Connections in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $202.00 target price for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $203.75.

About Waste Connections

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.