Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. Raises Stock Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 1.6% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 45,569 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 697 shares during the quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $8,149,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WCN. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 21.5% during the 1st quarter. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 142,795 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $24,562,000 after purchasing an additional 25,238 shares during the period. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the first quarter worth about $231,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 0.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,498,983 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,902,110,000 after buying an additional 88,137 shares during the period. Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 44.0% in the first quarter. Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc. now owns 4,780 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $821,000 after acquiring an additional 1,461 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Acadian Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 1,408.7% in the first quarter. Acadian Asset Management LLC now owns 128,417 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $22,083,000 after acquiring an additional 119,905 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Down 2.0 %

Shares of NYSE:WCN opened at $183.83 on Friday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $130.33 and a 1-year high of $188.30. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market cap of $47.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.50, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.72. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $180.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.55.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced 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 during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.81% and a return on equity of 15.43%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.17 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were paid a $0.315 dividend. This is an increase 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 of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have commented on WCN shares. TD Cowen raised their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their target price on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. CIBC lifted their price target on Waste Connections from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an “outperformer” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $197.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Raymond James cut their target price on Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Six research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $195.56.

About Waste Connections

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.