Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Shares Bought by Gradient Investments LLC

Gradient Investments LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 21.5% in the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm owned 83,108 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 14,721 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $14,260,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Versor Investments LP boosted its holdings in Waste Connections by 75.1% during the third quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 8,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,470,000 after buying an additional 3,527 shares in the last quarter. Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter worth $552,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter worth $2,503,000. Barclays PLC raised its position in shares of Waste Connections by 34.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 303,040 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,190,000 after purchasing an additional 77,466 shares during the period. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 65.6% during 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 purchasing an additional 1,202 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Down 0.9 %

Shares of WCN stock opened at $177.86 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $180.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $180.84. Waste Connections, Inc. has a twelve month low of $151.32 and a twelve month high of $194.83. 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 company has a market capitalization of $45.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.86, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.76.

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, 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 business had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.30 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.17 earnings per share. Waste Connections’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 EPS for the current year.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms have commented on WCN. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note 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 report on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Eight Capital raised Waste Connections to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Finally, 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 research note on Friday, October 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.31.

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.