Assetmark Inc. Boosts Stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Assetmark Inc. lifted its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 93.1% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 504 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 243 shares during the quarter. Assetmark Inc.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $90,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. American Trust boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 3.7% in the second quarter. American Trust now owns 1,573 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $276,000 after buying an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 15.0% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 529 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $95,000 after buying an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 8.8% in the second quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 916 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $161,000 after buying an additional 74 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 1.4% in the second quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 5,966 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,047,000 after buying an additional 82 shares in the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 12.5% in the second quarter. CWM LLC now owns 852 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $149,000 after buying an additional 95 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts recently weighed in on the company. Eight Capital upgraded Waste Connections to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on Waste Connections from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $197.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Waste Connections from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Six equities research 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 company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $195.56.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Waste Connections stock opened at $183.50 on Monday. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.35 billion, a P/E ratio of 50.41, a PEG ratio of 3.06 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $180.83 and a 200 day moving average price of $176.93. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52 week low of $130.33 and a 52 week high of $188.30. 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 earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 10.81%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.17 earnings per share. 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. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th were paid a $0.315 dividend. This is a positive change from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.62%.

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.