Quaero Capital S.A. Trims Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Quaero Capital S.A. lowered its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 7.9% during the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 9,250 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 790 shares during the period. Waste Connections accounts for approximately 2.0% of Quaero Capital S.A.’s portfolio, making the stock its 16th biggest position. Quaero Capital S.A.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $1,587,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Waste Connections by 8.8% in the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 705 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $121,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 14,247 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,445,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 58.0% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 226 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC raised its position in Waste Connections by 6.3% during the third quarter. Kingsview Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,515 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $271,000 after acquiring an additional 90 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd lifted its holdings in Waste Connections by 0.3% in the fourth quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 29,220 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,014,000 after acquiring an additional 92 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the stock. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday. Five 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.00.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WCN opened at $189.08 on Friday. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $179.39 and a 200-day simple moving average of $181.54. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.77. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52 week low of $160.34 and a 52 week high of $194.83.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.04). Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.81% and a return on equity of 15.43%. On average, equities analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.