Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Shares Bought by Bleakley Financial Group LLC

Bleakley Financial Group LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 115.1% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 9,247 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 4,949 shares during the period. Bleakley Financial Group LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $1,380,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Pacifica Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth about $25,000. Headinvest LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Operose Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Rational Advisors LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the third quarter worth about $41,000. Finally, Power Corp of Canada purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the first quarter worth about $84,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Trading Up 0.1 %

NYSE WCN opened at $168.48 on Thursday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a one year low of $126.12 and a one year high of $173.02. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $166.66 and a 200-day simple moving average of $149.69. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.88, a quick ratio of 0.68 and a current ratio of 0.68. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.47 billion, a PE ratio of 56.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.66.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.11 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.08 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $2.04 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.04 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 9.51% and a return on equity of 14.42%. The company’s revenue was up 8.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.89 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 28th were issued a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, February 27th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.68%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 38.51%.

Insider Activity

In related news, Director Andrea E. Bertone sold 902 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.17, for a total value of $152,591.34. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. 0.35% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts recently issued reports on WCN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $153.00 to $175.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Atb Cap Markets cut shares of Waste Connections from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $217.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Finally, CIBC increased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Five investment 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. According to MarketBeat, Waste Connections presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $177.69.

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.