Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Shares Acquired by Verition Fund Management LLC

Verition Fund Management LLC increased its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 67.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 129,131 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 51,983 shares during the period. Verition Fund Management LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Waste Connections worth $23,091,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Waste Connections by 42.2% during the 1st quarter. B. Riley Wealth Advisors Inc. now owns 2,455 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $422,000 after buying an additional 728 shares during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 7.7% during the 1st quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 8,091 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,392,000 after buying an additional 575 shares during the last quarter. Atria Investments Inc lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 7.0% during the 1st quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 10,173 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,750,000 after buying an additional 669 shares during the last quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 64.8% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Investment Advisers now owns 15,759 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,711,000 after buying an additional 6,198 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Cetera Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 163.9% in the 1st quarter. Cetera Advisors LLC now owns 8,565 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,473,000 after buying an additional 5,320 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Connections Trading Down 0.0 %

Shares of Waste Connections stock opened at $193.18 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $49.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $132.15 and a 52-week high of $194.83. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $182.04 and its 200-day simple moving average is $178.32. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 10.81%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.17 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WCN has been the subject of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $197.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup raised their price target on Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target 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.