Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. Boosts Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 41.0% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 19,710 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 5,733 shares during the period. Cambridge Investment Research Advisors Inc.'s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $3,843,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC raised its position in Waste Connections by 30.8% in the fourth quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,521 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $604,000 after acquiring an additional 829 shares during the period. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 19.2% in the 1st quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 7,069 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,379,000 after purchasing an additional 1,137 shares during the period. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC lifted its position in Waste Connections by 59.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $33,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares in the last quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 92.8% during the first quarter. Merit Financial Group LLC now owns 3,551 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $693,000 after purchasing an additional 1,709 shares during the period. Finally, Commonwealth Equity Services LLC increased its position in Waste Connections by 2.9% in the fourth quarter. Commonwealth Equity Services LLC now owns 14,471 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,483,000 after buying an additional 411 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WCN traded down $6.99 during trading on Wednesday, reaching $178.88. The stock had a trading volume of 2,151,489 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,002,801. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.36 and a 1-year high of $201.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.70. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $192.10 and a 200-day moving average price of $187.41. The stock has a market cap of $46.22 billion, a PE ratio of 73.49, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.60.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.07 by $0.06. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.74% and a net margin of 6.93%. The business had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.04 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 7.5% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th were paid a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.70%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 7th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.85%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have weighed in on WCN shares. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 26th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $213.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Citigroup increased their price target on Waste Connections from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Waste Connections from $197.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $221.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Connections has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $212.29.

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.