Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. Increases Stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 187.0% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 233,064 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 151,845 shares during the period. Waste Connections comprises approximately 2.0% of Hillsdale Investment Management Inc.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Hillsdale Investment Management Inc. owned 0.09% of Waste Connections worth $39,938,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in Waste Connections by 307.1% in 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 buying an additional 1,453,733 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth $240,422,000. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp increased its holdings 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 worth $225,078,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022,851 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI raised its stake 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. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP lifted its holdings in Waste Connections by 199.4% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 591,250 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $105,727,000 after purchasing an additional 393,763 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

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Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WCN. StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Connections from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Scotiabank reduced their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $196.00 to $192.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Waste Connections from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus increased their price objective on Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $202.43.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Waste Connections stock traded up $1.61 during mid-day trading on Tuesday, hitting $192.54. 244,738 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 978,713. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $185.88 and a 200-day moving average price of $182.65. The stock has a market cap of $49.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.56, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81. Waste Connections, Inc. has a one year low of $160.34 and a one year high of $194.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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%. On average, equities analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.315 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.72%.

Waste Connections 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.