Eagle Asset Management Inc. Decreases Stock Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Eagle Asset Management Inc. trimmed its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 22.2% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 916,939 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 261,824 shares during the quarter. Waste Connections accounts for about 0.9% of Eagle Asset Management Inc.’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Eagle Asset Management Inc. owned approximately 0.36% of Waste Connections worth $168,753,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd raised its stake in Waste Connections by 94.7% during the first quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 3,700 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $636,000 after buying an additional 1,800 shares in the last quarter. Natixis acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 1st quarter valued at approximately $360,000. CreativeOne Wealth LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections during the first quarter worth $266,000. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board boosted its holdings in Waste Connections by 35.3% in the first quarter. Canada Pension Plan Investment Board now owns 488,686 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $84,094,000 after purchasing an additional 127,522 shares during the period. Finally, Magnetar Financial LLC bought a new stake in Waste Connections during the first quarter valued at $1,319,000. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WCN has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada lifted their target price on Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price target on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus restated 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. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $197.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $195.56.

Waste Connections Stock Up 1.3 %

WCN opened at $189.01 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $180.99 and its 200-day moving average is $177.40. Waste Connections, Inc. has a one year low of $131.67 and a one year high of $189.48. The company has a market capitalization of $48.78 billion, a PE ratio of 51.93, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.81% and a return on equity of 15.43%. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.17 EPS. Waste Connections’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were paid a dividend of $0.315 per share. This is an increase from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is 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.