Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Shares Bought by QRG Capital Management Inc.

QRG Capital Management Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 5.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 16,188 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 815 shares during the quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $3,159,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Oarsman Capital Inc. raised its position in Waste Connections by 41.4% in the fourth quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 222 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 28.9% during the first quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 290 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 59.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the period. Integrated Advisors Network LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 5.5% during the fourth quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 1,562 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $268,000 after purchasing an additional 81 shares during the period. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 36.3% in the fourth quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 308 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $53,000 after acquiring an additional 82 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have issued reports on WCN. William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. National Bank Financial raised shares of Waste Connections to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, May 26th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $197.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and four have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $212.29.

Waste Connections Trading Down 0.4%

WCN opened at $186.93 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.30 billion, a PE ratio of 76.93, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.62. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.36 and a 1-year high of $201.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $193.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $187.46.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.93% and a return on equity of 15.74%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.04 EPS. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 7th were issued a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 7th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 51.85%.

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.