Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Position Lessened by TimesSquare Capital Management LLC

TimesSquare Capital Management LLC reduced its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 3.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 577,334 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 19,985 shares during the quarter. Waste Connections comprises approximately 1.5% of TimesSquare Capital Management LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 12th largest position. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $103,239,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. American Trust raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 3.7% during the second quarter. American Trust now owns 1,573 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $276,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in Waste Connections by 15.0% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 529 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $95,000 after acquiring an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its position in Waste Connections by 8.8% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 916 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $161,000 after acquiring an additional 74 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 1.4% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 5,966 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 12.5% during the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 852 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $149,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Connections Stock Up 1.2 %

Shares of NYSE:WCN opened at $184.04 on Friday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52 week low of $129.31 and a 52 week high of $187.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The company has a market cap of $47.49 billion, a PE ratio of 50.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $180.75 and a 200 day simple moving average of $176.02.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 firm had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.17 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This is a positive change from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on the stock. BMO Capital Markets decreased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $198.00 to $197.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. CIBC increased their price target on Waste Connections from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an “outperformer” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Raymond James dropped their price objective on Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $195.56.

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.