Two Sigma Advisers LP Has $105.73 Million Stock Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 199.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 591,250 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 393,763 shares during the period. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned about 0.23% of Waste Connections worth $105,727,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at $40,000. Asset Dedication LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the 2nd quarter worth about $45,000. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter worth about $47,000. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Connections Price Performance

NYSE:WCN traded up $0.30 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $190.60. 494,905 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 884,097. The business has a 50 day moving average of $183.21 and a 200 day moving average of $179.18. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $137.25 and a 1-year 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. The company has a market capitalization of $49.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.74.

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

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were issued a $0.315 dividend. This is a positive change from Waste Connections's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 34.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Scotiabank began coverage on Waste Connections in a report on Friday, October 4th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Waste Connections from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Raymond James decreased their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, CIBC raised their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $199.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an "outperformer" rating in a research note on Wednesday. Five 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $198.40.

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.