Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Shares Bought by Swiss National Bank

Swiss National Bank grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 0.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 765,845 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 2,900 shares during the period. Swiss National Bank’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $136,948,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in Waste Connections by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 8,103,895 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,423,373,000 after purchasing an additional 178,870 shares during the period. Fiera Capital Corp grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 2,332,002 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $417,385,000 after acquiring an additional 142,751 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 307.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,927,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $344,615,000 after acquiring an additional 1,453,733 shares during the period. Legal & General Group Plc grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,690,733 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $296,510,000 after acquiring an additional 71,681 shares during the period. Finally, Cibc World Market Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 7.2% in the 2nd quarter. Cibc World Market Inc. now owns 1,546,877 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $271,477,000 after acquiring an additional 103,582 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Trading Down 0.1 %

Shares of Waste Connections stock opened at $183.50 on Monday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $130.33 and a fifty-two week high of $188.30. The firm has a market cap of $47.35 billion, a PE ratio of 50.41, a P/E/G ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.72. The business’s fifty day moving average is $180.83 and its two-hundred day moving average is $176.93. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

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

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a $0.315 dividend. This is a positive change from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WCN has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup upped their price target on Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Waste Connections from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Waste Connections in a report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Eight Capital upgraded Waste Connections to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.