Stifel Financial Corp Boosts Stock Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 2.2% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 198,127 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 4,340 shares during the period. Stifel Financial Corp owned 0.08% of Waste Connections worth $35,429,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position 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 period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 432.6% during the 3rd 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 purchasing an additional 1,022,851 shares in the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its stake in Waste Connections by 44.2% during the third 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 purchasing an additional 602,055 shares during the period. Nicholas Company Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Connections in the second quarter worth approximately $64,176,000. Finally, Sei Investments Co. increased 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. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts have recently commented on WCN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective 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. CIBC raised their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $199.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "outperformer" rating in a report on Wednesday. Eight Capital raised shares of Waste Connections to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $196.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $198.40.

Waste Connections Stock Up 0.0 %

NYSE WCN traded up $0.05 on Friday, reaching $190.35. The company had a trading volume of 671,026 shares, compared to its average volume of 858,327. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $137.25 and a 52-week high of $194.83. The company's fifty day moving average is $183.47 and its 200 day moving average is $179.45. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.12 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.29, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 10.81%. The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.17 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The business 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 is a boost from Waste Connections's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. Waste Connections's payout ratio is 34.62%.

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.