Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Shares Sold by Nebula Research & Development LLC

Nebula Research & Development LLC decreased its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 93.0% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 1,282 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 17,125 shares during the quarter. Nebula Research & Development LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $220,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth approximately $687,935,000. FIL Ltd grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 46.2% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 7,177,724 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,231,368,000 after buying an additional 2,269,652 shares during the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 307.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,927,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $344,615,000 after acquiring an additional 1,453,733 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Connections in the 4th quarter worth $240,422,000. Finally, Capital International Investors grew its stake in Waste Connections by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,949,152 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,020,672,000 after purchasing an additional 899,058 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WCN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Scotiabank upped their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 8th. Jefferies Financial Group decreased their price objective on Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 30th. Royal Bank of Canada reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $221.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.21.

Waste Connections Price Performance

NYSE:WCN opened at $196.30 on Friday. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $191.53 and a two-hundred day moving average of $185.35. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12 month low of $160.34 and a 12 month high of $201.66. The firm has a market cap of $50.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 82.14, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.06. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 6.92%. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.04 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect 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, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be given a dividend of $0.315 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is presently 51.85%.

About Waste Connections

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.