Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN Shares Purchased by Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 161.7% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,114 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 11,810 shares during the quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $3,332,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the business. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 39.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,455,162 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $783,218,000 after purchasing an additional 1,264,150 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 17.6% during the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 6,136,218 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,078,536,000 after purchasing an additional 918,245 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 2.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,585,284 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,552,682,000 after buying an additional 717,440 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 55.7% in the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,991,112 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $350,603,000 after buying an additional 711,990 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 31.3% in the third quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,263,918 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $222,197,000 after buying an additional 301,389 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Waste Connections stock opened at $162.31 on Wednesday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52 week low of $154.90 and a 52 week high of $201.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market cap of $41.43 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.78 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $166.21 and a 200-day moving average of $170.20.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Waste Connections had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.25%. The firm had revenue of $2.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.37 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.16 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 25th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is 33.57%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WCN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $213.00 price target on Waste Connections and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. UBS Group set a $205.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Monday, January 5th. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $183.00 target price (down from $196.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Finally, Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, March 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $199.00 price target for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Connections currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $203.52.

Waste Connections Company Profile

Waste Connections (NYSE: WCN) is a North American integrated waste services company that provides a range of solid waste and environmental services to municipal, commercial, industrial and residential customers. The company offers collection, transportation, transfer, disposal and recycling services, and operates an extensive network of transfer stations and disposal facilities. Waste Connections positions itself as a provider of infrastructure-driven waste solutions across many regions of the United States and Canada.

The company’s operating activities include routine curbside and commercial collection, roll-off and container services, operation of landfills and transfer stations, and recycling and resource recovery programs.