Everence Capital Management Inc. Acquires Shares of 2,270 Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Everence Capital Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund acquired 2,270 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $389,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WCN. Versor Investments LP raised its position in Waste Connections by 75.1% during the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 8,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,470,000 after purchasing an additional 3,527 shares during the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the third quarter valued at approximately $552,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the third quarter valued at approximately $2,503,000. Barclays PLC lifted its stake in 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. boosted its holdings 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 acquiring an additional 1,202 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WCN has been the subject of several research reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $206.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Eight Capital upgraded shares of Waste Connections to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $197.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, CIBC lowered their target price on Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.69.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Connections stock opened at $171.78 on Tuesday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $145.35 and a 1 year high of $194.83. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $181.69 and its 200 day moving average is $180.80. The stock has a market cap of $44.33 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 47.19, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.76. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.77 and a quick ratio of 0.77.

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, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.05. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.81% and a return on equity of 15.43%. The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.17 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were paid a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.73%. This is a boost from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Waste Connections’s payout ratio 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.