Erste Asset Management GmbH Takes $2 Million Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Erste Asset Management GmbH acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 11,258 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,998,000.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Asset Dedication LLC acquired a new position in Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at about $41,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the second quarter worth about $45,000. Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the third quarter valued at about $47,000. Finally, Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 3,885.7% in the 2nd quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 279 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Connections Stock Up 0.4 %

WCN stock opened at $191.54 on Wednesday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a one year low of $137.25 and a one year high of $194.83. 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 fifty day moving average of $182.76 and a 200-day moving average of $179.02. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.43 billion, a PE ratio of 52.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.05. The company 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 firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.17 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were issued a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. This is an increase from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WCN. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price objective (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $195.56.

Waste Connections Company 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.