Cerity Partners LLC Buys 5,078 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Cerity Partners LLC raised its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 86.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 10,932 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 5,078 shares during the quarter. Cerity Partners LLC's holdings in Waste Connections were worth $1,955,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position 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 valued at $344,615,000 after acquiring an additional 1,453,733 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its holdings in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 602,055 shares in the last quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter valued at $64,176,000. Sei Investments Co. boosted its holdings in Waste Connections by 252.5% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 510,243 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $89,477,000 after purchasing an additional 365,487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc acquired a new position in Waste Connections during the third quarter worth $54,800,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WCN traded up $0.71 on Tuesday, hitting $191.54. The stock had a trading volume of 919,934 shares, compared to its average volume of 886,927. The company has a market capitalization of $49.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 52.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $182.76 and its 200-day moving average price is $179.02. Waste Connections, Inc. has a twelve month low of $137.25 and a twelve month high of $194.83.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last posted 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 company had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.17 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research 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. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were issued a dividend of $0.315 per share. This is an increase from Waste Connections's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is currently 34.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Raymond James decreased their price target on Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $197.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Scotiabank started coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. Eight Capital upgraded shares of Waste Connections to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $195.56.

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.