Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN Shares Acquired by R Squared Ltd

R Squared Ltd boosted its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 50.1% in the 3rd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 12,091 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,038 shares during the period. Waste Connections accounts for about 0.9% of R Squared Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 13th largest holding. R Squared Ltd’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $2,126,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Xponance Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 3.9% in the third quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 14,566 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,561,000 after purchasing an additional 545 shares in the last quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Connections by 4.3% during the 3rd quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $296,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. DNB Asset Management AS lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 99.3% in the 3rd quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 133,866 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $23,534,000 after buying an additional 66,697 shares in the last quarter. West Family Investments Inc. grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 2.1% during the 3rd quarter. West Family Investments Inc. now owns 5,152 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $906,000 after buying an additional 107 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 22.3% during the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 1,485 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $261,000 after buying an additional 271 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WCN opened at $169.38 on Friday. 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, Inc. has a 1-year low of $155.65 and a 1-year high of $201.66. The company has a market capitalization of $43.31 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.62, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a 50-day moving average of $169.23 and a 200-day moving average of $173.17.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released 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. Waste Connections had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.25%. The firm had revenue of $2.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.37 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.16 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of analysts recently commented on WCN shares. UBS Group set a $205.00 price objective on Waste Connections in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $213.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Barclays set a $176.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce set a $208.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Monday, January 5th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price 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.