Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) is Stockbridge Partners LLC’s 9th Largest Position

Stockbridge Partners LLC trimmed its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 9.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,841,010 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 185,359 shares during the period. Waste Connections makes up about 6.6% of Stockbridge Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Stockbridge Partners LLC owned 0.71% of Waste Connections worth $329,209,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Global Trust Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the third quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Asset Dedication LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter valued at $41,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the 1st quarter valued at $43,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter worth $45,000. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the third quarter worth $47,000. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have weighed in on WCN. Raymond James lowered their target price on Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, October 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective 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. Eight Capital upgraded shares of Waste Connections to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup increased their price target 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, Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 price objective for the company. Five research 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, Waste Connections presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $195.56.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

WCN opened at $193.18 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $49.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 53.07, a PEG ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a fifty day moving average of $182.04 and a 200 day moving average of $178.32. Waste Connections, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $132.15 and a fifty-two week 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 for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion during 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%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.17 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were given a dividend of $0.315 per share. This is an increase from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.62%.

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.