Pittenger & Anderson Inc. Increases Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Pittenger & Anderson Inc. lifted its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 18.8% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 25,990 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 4,105 shares during the period. Pittenger & Anderson Inc.'s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $4,459,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 4th quarter valued at $26,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 4th quarter valued at about $27,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 58.0% during the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 226 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Connections stock traded down $0.11 on Thursday, reaching $187.71. 870,925 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 985,677. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $160.34 and a 1-year high of $194.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $179.51 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $181.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.44 billion, a PE ratio of 78.54, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.77.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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%. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.29 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a dividend of $0.315 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 52.72%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently weighed in on WCN. Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Raymond James dropped 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 report on Friday, October 25th. Scotiabank dropped their price target 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. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $198.00 to $197.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $201.00.

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.