Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Position Increased by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp raised its position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 5.5% in the fourth quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 47,873 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 2,479 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $8,214,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WCN. CWM LLC lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 43.0% during the third quarter. CWM LLC now owns 1,218 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $218,000 after buying an additional 366 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 6,051 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,082,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. Net Worth Advisory Group acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter valued at about $295,000. Raymond James & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Raymond James & Associates now owns 422,161 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $75,491,000 after purchasing an additional 16,580 shares during the period. Finally, Cyndeo Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter valued at about $2,401,000. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Connections Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of WCN stock opened at $189.08 on Monday. The stock has a market cap of $48.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.94, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.77. Waste Connections, Inc. has a one year low of $160.34 and a one year high of $194.83. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $179.36 and a 200 day moving average price of $181.67. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.04). Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 10.81%. Analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.83 earnings per share for the current 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. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WCN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Citigroup upped their target price on Waste Connections from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Monday, January 13th. Raymond James dropped their target price on Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Jefferies Financial Group dropped their price objective on Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut Waste Connections from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday. Finally, Scotiabank decreased their target price on Waste Connections from $196.00 to $192.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 27th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.00.

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.