Thematics Asset Management Sells 5,000 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Thematics Asset Management lessened its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 4.3% during the third quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 112,469 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5,000 shares during the period. Thematics Asset Management’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $20,112,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 307.1% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,453,733 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 44.2% during the third 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 buying an additional 602,055 shares during the last quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the second quarter worth $64,176,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 252.5% in the 2nd quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 510,243 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $89,477,000 after acquiring an additional 365,487 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc bought a new stake in Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter worth $54,800,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently commented on the company. Eight Capital raised Waste Connections to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $205.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $195.56.

Waste Connections Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of NYSE WCN traded down $0.24 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, reaching $192.57. 121,651 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 886,150. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $181.22 and a 200 day simple moving average of $177.92. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $132.15 and a 1-year high of $193.93. The stock has a market cap of $49.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.98, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping 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 firm had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.17 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. This is a boost from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is currently 34.62%.

Waste Connections 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.