Two Sigma Advisers LP Purchases 393,763 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 199.4% in the third quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 591,250 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 393,763 shares during the quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP owned 0.23% of Waste Connections worth $105,727,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WCN. Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter valued at $36,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter valued at about $40,000. Asset Dedication LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $41,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Trading Down 0.4 %

NYSE WCN opened at $190.30 on Friday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12 month low of $137.25 and a 12 month high of $194.83. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $183.21 and its 200-day moving average price is $179.18. The stock has a market cap of $49.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.20 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.81% and a return on equity of 15.43%. Waste Connections’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.17 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast 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 dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.66%. This is an increase 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 currently 34.62%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. CIBC raised their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $199.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock an “outperformer” rating in a report on Wednesday. Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their target price on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $197.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada upped their price target on Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Connections currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $198.40.

About Waste Connections

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.