Stockbridge Partners LLC Trims Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Stockbridge Partners LLC trimmed its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 9.1% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 1,841,010 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 185,359 shares during the period. Waste Connections comprises approximately 6.6% of Stockbridge Partners LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 9th largest position. Stockbridge Partners LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $329,209,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 307.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,927,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $344,615,000 after purchasing an additional 1,453,733 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 44.2% during the third quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,964,082 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $351,037,000 after buying an additional 602,055 shares during the period. Nicholas Company Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the second quarter valued at approximately $64,176,000. Sei Investments Co. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 252.5% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 510,243 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $89,477,000 after buying an additional 365,487 shares during the period. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $54,800,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several brokerages have commented on WCN. Oppenheimer upped their price objective on Waste Connections from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $198.00 to $197.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. BMO Capital Markets lowered their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. Finally, Raymond James lowered their price target on Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $195.56.

Waste Connections Price Performance

WCN opened at $193.18 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.85 billion, a PE ratio of 53.07, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.22 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’s 50-day moving average is $182.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $178.32. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $132.15 and a 1 year high of $194.83.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 previous year, the firm earned $1.17 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Research analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were issued a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. This is a positive change from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Waste Connections’s dividend 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.