Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank Raises Stock Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank increased its position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 17.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 169,099 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 25,409 shares during the quarter. Zurcher Kantonalbank Zurich Cantonalbank owned about 0.07% of Waste Connections worth $30,260,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versor Investments LP increased its stake in Waste Connections by 75.1% during the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 8,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,470,000 after purchasing an additional 3,527 shares in the last quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 65.6% in the 3rd quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,034 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $543,000 after acquiring an additional 1,202 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new position in Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter worth $2,503,000. Gradient Investments LLC lifted its position in Waste Connections by 11.0% during the 2nd quarter. Gradient Investments LLC now owns 65,052 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,408,000 after acquiring an additional 6,432 shares during the period. Finally, Fiera Capital Corp grew its stake in Waste Connections by 6.5% during the 3rd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 2,332,002 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $417,385,000 after purchasing an additional 142,751 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

NYSE:WCN opened at $193.18 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.07, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $132.15 and a 1-year high of $194.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The company’s 50-day moving average is $182.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.32.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating 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 business had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.17 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were paid a $0.315 dividend. This is an increase from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is 34.62%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have issued reports on WCN shares. Eight Capital raised shares of Waste Connections to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 target price (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $198.00 to $197.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $195.56.

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.