Harvey Partners LLC Has $45.15 Million Stock Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Harvey Partners LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 17.4% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 252,500 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 37,500 shares during the quarter. Waste Connections comprises about 5.1% of Harvey Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 2nd largest holding. Harvey Partners LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $45,152,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Waste Connections by 307.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,927,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $344,615,000 after buying an additional 1,453,733 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 432.6% in the 3rd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,259,312 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $225,078,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022,851 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 44.2% in the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,964,082 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $351,037,000 after purchasing an additional 602,055 shares in the last quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter valued at $64,176,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 252.5% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 510,243 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $89,477,000 after buying an additional 365,487 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of WCN stock opened at $190.83 on Tuesday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $137.25 and a 52-week 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 firm’s 50-day moving average is $182.31 and its 200-day moving average is $178.68. The stock has a market cap of $49.25 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.43, a PEG ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly 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 company had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.17 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.315 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. This is an increase from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is currently 34.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have weighed in on WCN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $198.00 to $197.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Scotiabank started coverage on Waste Connections in a report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target 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 reduced their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Citigroup raised their target price on Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.