Aigen Investment Management LP Grows Stock Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Aigen Investment Management LP boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 224.0% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 22,333 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 15,440 shares during the quarter. Waste Connections makes up 0.8% of Aigen Investment Management LP’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 13th biggest holding. Aigen Investment Management LP’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $3,993,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of WCN. Principal Financial Group Inc. lifted its position 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 buying an additional 1,453,733 shares during the last quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 438.5% in the first quarter. Zurich Insurance Group Ltd FI now owns 535,471 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $92,106,000 after acquiring an additional 436,041 shares in the last quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the second quarter worth about $64,176,000. Sei Investments Co. increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 252.5% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 510,243 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $89,477,000 after purchasing an additional 365,487 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Impax Asset Management Group plc purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter valued at about $54,800,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have commented on WCN. Scotiabank began coverage on Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 price target on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. CIBC increased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an “outperformer” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price objective on Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, October 25th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $195.56.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WCN traded up $1.29 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $186.65. 39,541 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 882,358. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12-month low of $129.31 and a 12-month high of $187.54. The company has a market cap of $48.17 billion, a PE ratio of 50.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $180.73 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $176.30. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 10.81%. Waste Connections’s revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.17 earnings per share. On average, analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th will be given a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This is a positive change from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.62%.

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.