Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN Shares Sold by Bank of Nova Scotia

Bank of Nova Scotia reduced its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 12.7% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 440,269 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 63,971 shares during the quarter. Bank of Nova Scotia owned 0.17% of Waste Connections worth $77,374,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Aquatic Capital Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 282.5% during the third quarter. Aquatic Capital Management LLC now owns 20,852 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,666,000 after purchasing an additional 15,401 shares during the period. Alliancebernstein L.P. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 0.9% in the third quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 9,519 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,673,000 after purchasing an additional 84 shares during the period. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 1,505.8% during the 3rd quarter. Schonfeld Strategic Advisors LLC now owns 116,551 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $20,490,000 after purchasing an additional 109,293 shares in the last quarter. Creative Planning grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 17.2% during the 3rd quarter. Creative Planning now owns 9,940 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,748,000 after purchasing an additional 1,460 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Waste Connections by 33.6% during the 3rd quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 181,597 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,840,000 after buying an additional 45,647 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of WCN stock opened at $166.51 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $42.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $155.65 and a 1-year high of $201.66. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $167.64 and a two-hundred day moving average of $171.77.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its earnings results 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. The company had revenue of $2.35 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.37 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.25%. The company’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Investors of record on Wednesday, February 25th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is currently 33.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have commented on WCN. Citigroup reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $183.00 price objective (down from $196.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, January 16th. UBS Group set a $205.00 target price on Waste Connections in a research report on Monday, January 5th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Waste Connections from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price target (down from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $212.00 price objective on Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $203.52.

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.