Bank of Nova Scotia Boosts Stake in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Bank of Nova Scotia boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 7.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 504,240 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 36,449 shares during the period. Bank of Nova Scotia owned about 0.20% of Waste Connections worth $94,166,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Calamos Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the second quarter valued at $2,055,000. Cidel Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 3.3% in the 2nd quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 136,991 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,539,000 after purchasing an additional 4,340 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the 2nd quarter valued at about $63,385,000. Assetmark Inc. grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 84.2% during the second quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,413 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $264,000 after purchasing an additional 646 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Swiss National Bank grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 7.5% during the second quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 782,145 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $146,042,000 after purchasing an additional 54,400 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of WCN opened at $173.00 on Monday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The business has a fifty day moving average of $172.26 and a 200 day moving average of $180.40. The company has a market cap of $44.24 billion, a PE ratio of 72.08, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.62. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $163.27 and a 52-week high of $201.66.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $1.44 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.65% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.35 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 5th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 5th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.33%.

Insider Activity at Waste Connections

In other news, Director Edward E. Guillet sold 9,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.44, for a total value of $1,569,960.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 14,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,596,190.52. This represents a 37.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WCN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Barclays reissued a “negative” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $202.00 price target on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. Raymond James Financial set a $213.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Finally, Scotiabank restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $210.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.32.

Waste Connections Company 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.