Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Position Lessened by FDx Advisors Inc.

FDx Advisors Inc. decreased its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 14.6% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 2,507 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 430 shares during the period. FDx Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $430,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WCN. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 307.1% in the 3rd 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 during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its position in 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 acquiring an additional 1,022,851 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in Waste Connections by 35.3% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,678,562 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $478,777,000 after acquiring an additional 699,012 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its position in Waste Connections by 44.2% in 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 increased 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 during the period. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WCN opened at $187.71 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.54, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $179.58 and its 200 day simple moving average is $181.91. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $160.34 and a 52-week high of $194.83.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.04). Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 6.92%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.315 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is 52.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WCN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Citigroup raised their target price on Waste Connections from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their target price on Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Raymond James lowered their price target on Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets lowered their price target on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Connections presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.00.

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.