Verition Fund Management LLC Raises Stock Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Verition Fund Management LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 67.4% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 129,131 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 51,983 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $23,091,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WCN. Captrust Financial Advisors raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 1.3% during the third quarter. Captrust Financial Advisors now owns 16,799 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,004,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares during the last quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 1.1% in the third quarter. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. now owns 26,099 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,666,000 after buying an additional 279 shares in the last quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 17.7% in the third quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank now owns 169,099 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $30,260,000 after buying an additional 25,409 shares in the last quarter. FORA Capital LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 49.4% in the 3rd quarter. FORA Capital LLC now owns 7,197 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,287,000 after buying an additional 2,381 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter valued at about $552,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Trading Down 0.0 %

NYSE WCN opened at $193.18 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $49.85 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.07, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12 month low of $132.15 and a 12 month high of $194.83. 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 company has a 50-day moving average of $182.04 and a 200-day moving average of $178.32.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.81% and a return on equity of 15.43%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.17 EPS. As a group, equities analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were issued a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. This is an increase from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WCN shares. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 target price for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $197.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Eight Capital upgraded Waste Connections to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Five equities research 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $195.56.

Waste Connections Company 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.