Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN Shares Bought by SG Americas Securities LLC

SG Americas Securities LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 72.0% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 233,477 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 97,706 shares during the quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $40,943,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in Waste Connections by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,585,284 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,552,682,000 after buying an additional 717,440 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its stake in 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 valued at $1,078,536,000 after buying an additional 918,245 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP raised 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 buying an additional 1,264,150 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $755,938,000. Finally, 1832 Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,995,575 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $746,054,000 after acquiring an additional 132,455 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently commented on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Barclays set a $176.00 target price on Waste Connections and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $183.00 price target (down from $196.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, January 16th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce set a $208.00 price objective on Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, UBS Group set a $205.00 price objective on Waste Connections in a report on Monday, January 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $203.52.

Waste Connections Stock Down 0.6%

NYSE WCN opened at $156.86 on Thursday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12 month low of $154.90 and a 12 month high of $201.66. The company has a market capitalization of $40.03 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.62, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.62. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $166.79 and its 200 day simple moving average is $170.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly 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. The firm had revenue of $2.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.37 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.25%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.16 earnings per share. Equities research analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.57%.

Waste Connections Company 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.