Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. Increases Stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 72,189 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 4,330 shares during the period. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $12,909,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 307.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,927,155 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $344,615,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453,733 shares during the last quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 432.6% during the third 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 buying an additional 1,022,851 shares during the last quarter. National Bank of Canada FI increased its holdings 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 worth $478,777,000 after buying an additional 699,012 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. increased its holdings 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 worth $351,037,000 after buying an additional 602,055 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP raised 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 worth $105,727,000 after buying an additional 393,763 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Citigroup raised their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $197.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Eight Capital upgraded Waste Connections to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday. Five investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $199.81.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WCN traded down $0.60 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $184.24. 702,487 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 884,718. The company's 50 day moving average price is $183.92 and its 200-day moving average price is $179.88. The firm has a market cap of $47.55 billion, a PE ratio of 50.70, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52 week low of $144.69 and a 52 week high of $194.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

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

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were paid a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. This is a positive change from Waste Connections's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.62%.

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.