6,465 Shares in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Acquired by Benjamin Edwards Inc.

Benjamin Edwards Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) during the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 6,465 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,157,000.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cetera Investment Advisers raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 64.8% in the first quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 15,759 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,711,000 after acquiring an additional 6,198 shares during the last quarter. CWM LLC raised its position in Waste Connections by 12.5% in the 2nd quarter. CWM LLC now owns 852 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $149,000 after purchasing an additional 95 shares during the last quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 6.6% in the second quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 12,340 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,164,000 after purchasing an additional 759 shares in the last quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 18.4% during the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,896 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $859,000 after purchasing an additional 761 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wedmont Private Capital bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the second quarter worth $261,000. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of WCN opened at $190.35 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $49.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.29, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $137.25 and a 1 year high of $194.83. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $183.21 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $179.18. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick 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 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.05. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.81% and a return on equity of 15.43%. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.17 EPS. Waste Connections’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, 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. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. 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 Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WCN. Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price target (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup increased their price objective on Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Eight Capital upgraded Waste Connections to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $198.40.

About Waste Connections

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.