Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Shares Bought by Eventide Asset Management LLC

Eventide Asset Management LLC increased its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 0.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 807,637 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 548 shares during the period. Waste Connections makes up about 2.5% of Eventide Asset Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 5th biggest position. Eventide Asset Management LLC owned approximately 0.31% of Waste Connections worth $144,422,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Bank of Montreal Can grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 2.3% in the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 8,103,895 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,423,373,000 after purchasing an additional 178,870 shares during the last quarter. FMR LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 0.6% in the 3rd quarter. FMR LLC now owns 5,313,725 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $950,055,000 after buying an additional 30,890 shares in the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 6.5% in the 3rd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 2,332,002 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $417,385,000 after buying an additional 142,751 shares in the last quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. grew its stake in Waste Connections by 15.5% in the 3rd quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 2,303,339 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $401,936,000 after acquiring an additional 309,619 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 44.2% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,964,082 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $351,037,000 after acquiring an additional 602,055 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

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. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $182.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.32. Waste Connections, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $132.15 and a fifty-two week high of $194.83. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.05. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 10.81%. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.17 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

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

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WCN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Eight Capital raised shares of Waste Connections to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Raymond James reduced their target price on Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 price target for the company. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Waste Connections from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price objective on Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $195.56.

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.