American Trust Lowers Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

American Trust decreased its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 1,492 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 81 shares during the period. American Trust’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $267,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections during the third quarter valued at about $40,000. Asset Dedication LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Connections during the third quarter worth about $41,000. Continuum Advisory LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 58.0% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 226 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter valued at about $47,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of WCN opened at $179.91 on Friday. The firm has a market cap of $46.43 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 49.43, a PEG ratio of 3.08 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. The business’s 50 day moving average is $184.12 and its two-hundred day moving average is $180.01. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $144.69 and a 52-week high of $194.83.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.17 earnings per share. Analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.315 per share. This is a boost from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.70%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.62%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WCN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $198.00 to $197.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Eight Capital raised shares of Waste Connections to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday. Finally, Raymond James cut their price objective 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. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.88.

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.