Addenda Capital Inc. Purchases 17,545 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Addenda Capital Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 9.2% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 208,978 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 17,545 shares during the period. Waste Connections accounts for approximately 1.6% of Addenda Capital Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 18th largest position. Addenda Capital Inc.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $35,856,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of WCN. Versor Investments LP increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 75.1% during the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 8,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,470,000 after purchasing an additional 3,527 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in Waste Connections during the third quarter worth $552,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter worth $2,503,000. Barclays PLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 303,040 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $54,190,000 after purchasing an additional 77,466 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Waste Connections by 65.6% in the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,034 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $543,000 after buying an additional 1,202 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WCN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Eight Capital raised Waste Connections to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Scotiabank initiated coverage on Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. CIBC cut their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.75.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Connections stock opened at $178.45 on Tuesday. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $181.10 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $180.85. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $146.51 and a 1-year 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 company has a market cap of $46.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 49.03, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.76.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.05. The business 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%. The firm’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.17 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were issued a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.71%. This is a positive change from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.62%.

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.