Gradient Investments LLC Grows Position in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Gradient Investments LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 18.5% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 145,595 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 22,722 shares during the quarter. Gradient Investments LLC owned about 0.06% of Waste Connections worth $25,532,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WCN. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 4.9% in the 4th quarter. Sound View Wealth Advisors Group LLC now owns 15,930 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,794,000 after purchasing an additional 742 shares in the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 161.7% during the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 19,114 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,332,000 after purchasing an additional 11,810 shares in the last quarter. Tuttle Capital Management LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 21.3% during the fourth quarter. Tuttle Capital Management LLC now owns 4,373 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $767,000 after purchasing an additional 767 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 117,323 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $20,825,000 after purchasing an additional 2,448 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Procyon Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the fourth quarter worth about $1,908,000. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Connections Stock Down 1.3%

Shares of NYSE:WCN opened at $162.76 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $41.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.03, a PEG ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.62. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12 month low of $155.65 and a 12 month high of $201.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $167.13 and a 200 day moving average price of $171.13.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 16.25% and a net margin of 11.37%.The company had revenue of $2.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.37 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.16 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is currently 33.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WCN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce set a $208.00 price target on Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, January 8th. Sanford C. Bernstein reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $213.00 price objective on Waste Connections and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. TD Cowen lowered their target price on Waste Connections from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, March 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $199.00 target price for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $203.52.

About Waste Connections

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.