Quadrature Capital Ltd Boosts Stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Quadrature Capital Ltd grew its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 139.9% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 268,700 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 156,700 shares during the period. Waste Connections accounts for 1.1% of Quadrature Capital Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 22nd biggest position. Quadrature Capital Ltd owned 0.10% of Waste Connections worth $48,092,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Versor Investments LP raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 75.1% during the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 8,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,470,000 after purchasing an additional 3,527 shares during the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the third quarter worth $552,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the third quarter worth $2,503,000. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 65.6% during the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,034 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $543,000 after purchasing an additional 1,202 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 11.0% during the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 65,052 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,408,000 after purchasing an additional 6,432 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, October 25th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, BMO Capital Markets cut their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $196.93.

Waste Connections Stock Down 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE WCN opened at $190.99 on Thursday. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $182.97 and its 200-day simple moving average is $179.10. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $137.25 and a 52-week high of $194.83. The firm has a market cap of $49.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.74. 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 announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.05. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.81% and a return on equity of 15.43%. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.17 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.315 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This is a positive change from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is presently 34.62%.

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.