Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC Boosts Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 21.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 5,542 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 967 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $991,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WCN. Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the third quarter worth about $36,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $40,000. Continuum Advisory LLC increased its position in Waste Connections by 58.0% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 226 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 83 shares during the period. Asset Dedication LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank purchased a new stake in Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at approximately $47,000. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WCN has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Raymond James cut their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Eight Capital raised shares of Waste Connections to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Waste Connections in a report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $199.75.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of WCN opened at $176.85 on Thursday. The company has a market capitalization of $45.64 billion, a PE ratio of 48.59, a P/E/G ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.76. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $145.35 and a 52-week high of $194.83. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $181.33 and a 200-day simple moving average of $180.80. The company has a quick ratio of 0.77, a current ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion during 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% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.17 earnings per share. Equities research analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.71%. This is an increase from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. Waste Connections’s 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.