Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN Shares Sold by Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ

Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ cut its position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 5.5% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 54,363 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,159 shares during the quarter. Skandinaviska Enskilda Banken AB publ’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $9,557,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WCN. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its position in Waste Connections by 55.7% during the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,991,112 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $350,603,000 after acquiring an additional 711,990 shares during the period. Fisher Funds Management LTD lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 51.2% in the third quarter. Fisher Funds Management LTD now owns 88,336 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,529,000 after purchasing an additional 29,925 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 2.3% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 385,446 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $67,761,000 after purchasing an additional 8,725 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans grew its position in Waste Connections by 770.4% during the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 57,519 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,112,000 after purchasing an additional 50,911 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cidel Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Waste Connections by 19.5% in the 3rd quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 163,675 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,780,000 after buying an additional 26,684 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts have issued reports on the stock. TD Cowen decreased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Wells Fargo & Company assumed coverage on Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $186.00 target price on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price target (down from $219.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Tuesday. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on Waste Connections in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Monday, January 5th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $203.75.

Waste Connections Stock Up 0.9%

WCN opened at $162.66 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $41.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $170.30 and a 200 day moving average price of $173.99. Waste Connections, Inc. has a twelve month low of $155.65 and a twelve month high of $201.66.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. Waste Connections had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.25%. The company had revenue of $2.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.16 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is 33.57%.

Waste Connections Profile

Waste Connections (NYSE: WCN) is a North American integrated waste services company that provides a range of solid waste and environmental services to municipal, commercial, industrial and residential customers. The company offers collection, transportation, transfer, disposal and recycling services, and operates an extensive network of transfer stations and disposal facilities. Waste Connections positions itself as a provider of infrastructure-driven waste solutions across many regions of the United States and Canada.

The company’s operating activities include routine curbside and commercial collection, roll-off and container services, operation of landfills and transfer stations, and recycling and resource recovery programs.