Russell Investments Group Ltd. Reduces Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Russell Investments Group Ltd. decreased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 10.7% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 293,225 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 35,294 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned about 0.11% of Waste Connections worth $51,501,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 2.3% during the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,585,284 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,552,682,000 after acquiring an additional 717,440 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 14.0% in the 2nd quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 5,217,973 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $975,190,000 after purchasing an additional 642,426 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Waste Connections in the second quarter valued at approximately $755,938,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 3.4% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,995,575 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $746,054,000 after acquiring an additional 132,455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Waste Connections by 1.0% during the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,474,700 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $610,853,000 after buying an additional 35,720 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research analysts have commented on the stock. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $213.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $202.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce set a $208.00 price objective on Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued 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 price target of $203.75.

Waste Connections Stock Down 3.5%

WCN opened at $165.67 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62. The company has a market cap of $42.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.73, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.62. Waste Connections, Inc. has a one year low of $155.65 and a one year high of $201.66. The business’s fifty day moving average is $168.14 and its two-hundred day moving average is $172.11.

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

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.57%.

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.