King Luther Capital Management Corp Lowers Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

King Luther Capital Management Corp decreased its position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 0.6% during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,121,736 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 6,309 shares during the quarter. Waste Connections makes up 0.8% of King Luther Capital Management Corp’s holdings, making the stock its 28th largest holding. King Luther Capital Management Corp owned about 0.44% of Waste Connections worth $197,201,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WCN. CIBC Asset Management Inc raised its position in shares of Waste Connections by 55.7% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,991,112 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $350,603,000 after buying an additional 711,990 shares during the period. Fisher Funds Management LTD raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 51.2% in the 3rd quarter. Fisher Funds Management LTD now owns 88,336 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $15,529,000 after buying an additional 29,925 shares during the period. National Pension Service lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 385,446 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $67,761,000 after acquiring an additional 8,725 shares in the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans increased its stake in Waste Connections by 770.4% during the 3rd quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 57,519 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,112,000 after buying an additional 50,911 shares during the period. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. lifted its holdings in Waste Connections by 19.5% during the 3rd quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 163,675 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,780,000 after buying an additional 26,684 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Connections Price Performance

WCN opened at $162.66 on Thursday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $155.65 and a 1 year high of $201.66. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $170.30 and its 200 day simple moving average is $173.99. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.59 billion, a PE ratio of 39.01, a P/E/G ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62.

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

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WCN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce set a $208.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday, January 8th. Scotiabank set a $197.00 price objective on Waste Connections and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Barclays set a $176.00 price target on Waste Connections and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $205.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Finally, TD Cowen dropped their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $203.75.

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.