Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Sees Large Increase in Short Interest

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) saw a significant growth in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,220,000 shares, a growth of 50.0% from the November 15th total of 1,480,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 886,700 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.5 days. Currently, 0.9% of the shares of the stock are short sold.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Connections by 307.1% in 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 stake in 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 period. National Bank of Canada FI grew its position in Waste Connections by 35.3% during the third 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 stake 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 acquiring an additional 602,055 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP raised its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $105,727,000 after acquiring an additional 393,763 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

WCN stock traded down $4.24 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $180.00. The company had a trading volume of 1,289,263 shares, compared to its average volume of 885,782. Waste Connections has a 12 month low of $144.69 and a 12 month high of $194.83. The stock's fifty day moving average price is $184.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $179.91. The firm has a market cap of $46.45 billion, a PE ratio of 50.62, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.17 EPS. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts forecast that Waste Connections will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. This is a positive change from Waste Connections's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Waste Connections's payout ratio is 34.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have commented on WCN shares. Scotiabank began coverage on Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They set a "sector perform" rating and a $196.00 target price for the company. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $206.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Thursday. CIBC increased their price target on Waste Connections from $199.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "outperformer" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $199.88.

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.