Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Shares Sold by Van ECK Associates Corp

Van ECK Associates Corp reduced its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 8.9% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 45,394 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 4,430 shares during the period. Van ECK Associates Corp's holdings in Waste Connections were worth $8,187,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. Asset Dedication LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the third quarter worth about $41,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the first quarter worth about $43,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 3,885.7% in the 2nd quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 279 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have commented on WCN. BMO Capital Markets cut their price target 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. Royal Bank of Canada lifted 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. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Monday, October 21st. Citigroup boosted their price target on Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, TD Cowen lifted their target price on Waste Connections from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $195.56.

Waste Connections Stock Up 1.0 %

Waste Connections stock traded up $1.88 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $181.28. The stock had a trading volume of 500,341 shares, compared to its average volume of 883,151. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12 month low of $129.31 and a 12 month high of $187.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock has a market cap of $46.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.28, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $180.88 and a 200 day moving average price of $175.85.

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

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.315 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This is a positive change from Waste Connections's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is 31.32%.

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.