Sanctuary Advisors LLC Trims Stock Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Sanctuary Advisors LLC decreased its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 19.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 10,416 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 2,452 shares during the period. Sanctuary Advisors LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $1,978,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections in the third quarter worth approximately $36,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter worth about $40,000. Asset Dedication LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its position in Waste Connections by 58.0% in the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 226 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the third quarter worth about $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Waste Connections stock opened at $174.66 on Thursday. The stock has a market cap of $45.07 billion, a P/E ratio of 47.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $183.93 and a 200-day simple moving average of $180.43. 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, Inc. has a 12-month low of $145.35 and a 12-month high of $194.83.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 10.81%. The business had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.17 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This is an increase from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is currently 34.62%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently issued reports on WCN. CIBC boosted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $199.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an “outperformer” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Raymond James decreased their price target on Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research note 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Eight Capital upgraded shares of Waste Connections to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.88.

Waste Connections Company 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.