Granite Group Advisors LLC Sells 244 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Granite Group Advisors LLC cut its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 17.5% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 1,147 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 244 shares during the quarter. Granite Group Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $205,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WCN. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 0.3% during the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 28,498,983 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,902,110,000 after purchasing an additional 88,137 shares during the period. Bank of Montreal Can raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 2.3% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 8,103,895 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,423,373,000 after buying an additional 178,870 shares during the last quarter. Fiera Capital Corp boosted its position in Waste Connections by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter. Fiera Capital Corp now owns 2,189,251 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $384,268,000 after buying an additional 15,623 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 307.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,927,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $344,615,000 after acquiring an additional 1,453,733 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legal & General Group Plc increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 4.4% in the second quarter. Legal & General Group Plc now owns 1,690,733 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $296,510,000 after acquiring an additional 71,681 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Connections Stock Up 1.2 %

NYSE:WCN traded up $2.21 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $184.11. 24,542 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 882,662. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $129.31 and a 1 year high of $187.54. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.72. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $180.88 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $175.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.81% and a return on equity of 15.43%. Waste Connections’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.17 EPS. Analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a $0.315 dividend. This is a positive change from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is presently 31.32%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on WCN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $198.00 to $197.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen upped their target price on Waste Connections from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, CIBC lifted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an “outperformer” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $195.56.

About Waste Connections

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.