Schroder Investment Management Group Has $113.14 Million Position in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Schroder Investment Management Group trimmed its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 36.4% during the third quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 649,117 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 371,926 shares during the period. Schroder Investment Management Group’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $113,141,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. PFG Advisors raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 10.4% during the 3rd quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 30,479 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,358,000 after purchasing an additional 2,860 shares in the last quarter. Altman Advisors Inc. increased its position in Waste Connections by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Altman Advisors Inc. now owns 11,539 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,029,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 661,576 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $116,305,000 after buying an additional 15,749 shares during the last quarter. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new stake in Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at approximately $1,911,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC grew its stake in Waste Connections by 3.2% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 192,799 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,894,000 after purchasing an additional 5,896 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WCN. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price target (down from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce set a $208.00 price objective on Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Barclays set a $176.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $202.00 price objective for the company. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $210.00 target price (down from $219.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $203.75.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Connections stock opened at $171.71 on Tuesday. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.18, a P/E/G ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12 month low of $155.65 and a 12 month high of $201.66. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $168.39 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $172.25.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Waste Connections had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.25%. The firm had revenue of $2.35 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.37 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.16 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.57%.

Waste Connections Profile

Waste Connections (NYSE: WCN) is a North American integrated waste services company that provides a range of solid waste and environmental services to municipal, commercial, industrial and residential customers. The company offers collection, transportation, transfer, disposal and recycling services, and operates an extensive network of transfer stations and disposal facilities. Waste Connections positions itself as a provider of infrastructure-driven waste solutions across many regions of the United States and Canada.

The company’s operating activities include routine curbside and commercial collection, roll-off and container services, operation of landfills and transfer stations, and recycling and resource recovery programs.