Sycomore Asset Management Buys 21,340 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Sycomore Asset Management raised its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 49.0% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 64,856 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 21,340 shares during the period. Waste Connections makes up 1.7% of Sycomore Asset Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position. Sycomore Asset Management’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $11,598,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other large investors have also recently modified their holdings of the business. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. grew its stake in Waste Connections by 7.1% during the third quarter. Tokio Marine Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 7,174 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,283,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares in the last quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC increased its position in Waste Connections by 3.3% during the 3rd quarter. Metis Global Partners LLC now owns 4,635 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $829,000 after purchasing an additional 147 shares during the period. Huntington National Bank grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 82.3% in the 3rd quarter. Huntington National Bank now owns 514 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $92,000 after buying an additional 232 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Waste Connections by 1.6% during the 3rd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 45,569 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,149,000 after purchasing an additional 697 shares during the last quarter. Finally, MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,215,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities analysts have issued reports on WCN shares. Eight Capital upgraded shares of Waste Connections to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Raymond James cut their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, October 25th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $195.56.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of WCN stock traded down $3.62 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $183.88. The company had a trading volume of 151,108 shares, compared to its average volume of 881,390. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $130.33 and a 52-week high of $188.30. The stock has a market cap of $47.45 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 51.13, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.72. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $180.83 and its 200 day simple moving average is $176.55.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued 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. The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion during 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%. Waste Connections’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.17 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a $0.315 dividend. This is an increase from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.69%. 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.