Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. Sells 59 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. lessened its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 0.2% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 24,696 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 59 shares during the period. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $4,416,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. American Trust grew its position in Waste Connections by 3.7% in the second quarter. American Trust now owns 1,573 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $276,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 15.0% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 529 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $95,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 8.8% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 916 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $161,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 5,966 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. Finally, CWM LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 12.5% during the 2nd 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. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

NYSE WCN opened at $183.83 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 50.50, a PEG ratio of 3.13 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Connections, Inc. has a twelve month low of $130.33 and a twelve month high of $188.30. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $180.83 and a 200 day moving average of $176.55. 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 quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.81% and a return on equity of 15.43%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.17 EPS. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were paid a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. This is a positive change from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.62%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several analysts have issued reports on WCN shares. Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, October 25th. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Eight Capital raised Waste Connections to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Raymond James dropped their target price on Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average 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.