BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. Buys 63,794 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A. boosted its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 12.4% during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 577,899 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 63,794 shares during the period. BNP PARIBAS ASSET MANAGEMENT Holding S.A.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $103,340,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at $36,000. Asset Dedication LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter valued at about $41,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Connections during the first quarter worth approximately $43,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Waste Connections in the second quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Trading Down 0.5 %

NYSE:WCN opened at $186.52 on Thursday. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $180.93 and its 200 day moving average is $177.32. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12 month low of $130.33 and a 12 month high of $188.53. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.13 billion, a PE ratio of 51.24, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.72. 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 issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.05. The firm 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%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.17 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.315 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. This is an increase from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WCN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Oppenheimer boosted their target price 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. Raymond James dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Scotiabank assumed coverage on Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. Six investment 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $195.56.

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.