Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Shares Acquired by SRS Capital Advisors Inc.

SRS Capital Advisors Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 10.5% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 8,554 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 816 shares during the quarter. SRS Capital Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $1,277,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Waste Connections in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Headinvest LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Rational Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections in the third quarter worth $41,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections in the fourth quarter worth $61,000. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Andrea E. Bertone sold 902 shares of the stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.17, for a total value of $152,591.34. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Trading Up 0.8 %

Shares of WCN stock traded up $1.35 during mid-day trading on Thursday, hitting $163.41. 483,519 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 915,813. The stock has a market cap of $42.16 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.62, a PEG ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Waste Connections, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $126.12 and a fifty-two week high of $173.02. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $167.95 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $152.72.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.05 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 9.70%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $0.89 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.82 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be issued a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.01%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on WCN shares. CIBC upped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Waste Connections from $146.50 to $179.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Waste Connections from $195.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. UBS Group cut Waste Connections from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and raised their price target for the company from $170.00 to $181.00 in a research report on Thursday, February 29th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada cut their price target on Waste Connections from $196.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.33.

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.