MQS Management LLC Purchases Shares of 6,796 Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

MQS Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor bought 6,796 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,215,000. Waste Connections makes up approximately 0.7% of MQS Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 5th largest position.

Other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Sei Investments Co. raised its position in Waste Connections by 6.2% in the 1st quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 144,756 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $24,899,000 after purchasing an additional 8,505 shares in the last quarter. Versor Investments LP increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 75.1% in the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 8,221 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,470,000 after acquiring an additional 3,527 shares during the last quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 1.0% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 317,220 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $54,565,000 after acquiring an additional 3,106 shares during the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its position in Waste Connections by 65.6% during the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,034 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $543,000 after buying an additional 1,202 shares during the period. Finally, Gradient Investments LLC increased its position in Waste Connections by 11.0% during the second quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 65,052 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $11,408,000 after buying an additional 6,432 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Waste Connections Stock Down 0.1 %

Shares of Waste Connections stock traded down $0.10 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $187.50. 570,212 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 884,157. The company has a 50 day moving average of $180.78 and a two-hundred day moving average of $176.47. Waste Connections, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $130.33 and a fifty-two week high of $188.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $48.39 billion, a P/E ratio of 51.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.30 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.81% and a return on equity of 15.43%. Waste Connections's quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.17 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. This is a boost from Waste Connections's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WCN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Raymond James dropped their target price 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. Scotiabank started coverage on Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a "sector perform" rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Waste Connections from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, CIBC raised their price objective on Waste Connections from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an "outperformer" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $195.56.

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.