Swedbank AB Acquires 11,774 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Swedbank AB grew its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 40.6% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund owned 40,806 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 11,774 shares during the quarter. Swedbank AB’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $7,297,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WCN. Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Asset Dedication LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the first quarter worth $43,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the second quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the third quarter worth $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WCN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Royal Bank of Canada increased their target price on Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Waste Connections in a report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. BMO Capital Markets cut their target price on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $195.56.

Waste Connections Trading Up 0.2 %

Waste Connections stock opened at $193.25 on Wednesday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $181.46 and a 200 day simple moving average of $178.11. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.87 billion, a P/E ratio of 53.09, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52 week low of $132.15 and a 52 week high of $194.24.

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

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This is a positive change from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.62%.

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.