Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Shares Bought by Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd

Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd grew its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 241.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 13,768 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 9,734 shares during the quarter. Y Intercept Hong Kong Ltd’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $2,362,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Versor Investments LP raised its position in shares of Waste Connections by 75.1% in the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 8,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,470,000 after acquiring an additional 3,527 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the third quarter worth about $552,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the third quarter worth about $2,503,000. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Waste Connections by 34.3% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 303,040 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,190,000 after acquiring an additional 77,466 shares during the period. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its position in shares of 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 worth $543,000 after acquiring an additional 1,202 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Up 0.3 %

Shares of NYSE WCN opened at $187.94 on Tuesday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12-month low of $160.34 and a 12-month high of $194.83. The stock has a market cap of $48.51 billion, a PE ratio of 78.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The company has a 50-day moving average of $179.93 and a 200 day moving average of $182.09.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.04). Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 15.54%. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is 52.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WCN shares. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Connections from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Scotiabank cut their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $196.00 to $192.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, January 27th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.00.

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.