Avanza Fonder AB Invests $4.20 Million in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Avanza Fonder AB acquired a new stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 24,473 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $4,199,000.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 307.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,927,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $344,615,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453,733 shares in the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 432.6% in the 3rd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,259,312 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $225,078,000 after buying an additional 1,022,851 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 35.3% during the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,678,562 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $478,777,000 after acquiring an additional 699,012 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted 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 during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP grew its position in Waste Connections by 199.4% in the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 591,250 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $105,727,000 after acquiring an additional 393,763 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

NYSE WCN opened at $178.45 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $181.21 and a two-hundred day moving average of $180.76. 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, Inc. has a 1 year low of $146.51 and a 1 year high of $194.83. The company has a market capitalization of $46.05 billion, a PE ratio of 49.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.61 and a beta of 0.76.

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

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th were paid a dividend of $0.315 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. This is a boost from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WCN. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $206.00 to $214.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Eight Capital raised Waste Connections to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Raymond James reduced their price objective 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $197.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.75.

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.