Thematics Asset Management Has $20.11 Million Stock Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Thematics Asset Management cut its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 4.3% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 112,469 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 5,000 shares during the period. Thematics Asset Management’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $20,112,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WCN. Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the third quarter worth about $36,000. Asset Dedication LLC acquired a new position in Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter worth $41,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the 1st quarter valued at about $43,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the second quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the third quarter worth about $47,000. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have weighed in on WCN. Scotiabank began coverage on Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 price target for the company. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target 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. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Waste Connections from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price target on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus restated a “buy” rating and set a $205.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $195.56.

Waste Connections Price Performance

NYSE:WCN traded down $0.24 during trading hours on Tuesday, reaching $192.57. 121,651 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 886,150. The company has a market capitalization of $49.69 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.98, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77. The business has a 50 day moving average of $181.22 and a 200 day moving average of $177.92. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $132.15 and a 1-year high of $193.93.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.05. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 10.81%. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.17 EPS. Waste Connections’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts forecast 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. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.315 per share. This is a positive change 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 0.65%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 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.