Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Position Raised by Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.

Key Points

• Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. has increased its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. by 20.7%, now holding over 2.4 million shares, making it the firm's 7th largest holding.
• Several institutional investors have also recently purchased shares of Waste Connections, contributing to a total of about 86.09% of the stock being owned by such investors and hedge funds.
• Brokerages have mostly rated Waste Connections positively, with a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $215.00.

Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 20.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 2,413,615 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 413,190 shares during the period. Waste Connections makes up approximately 2.1% of Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd.'s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th largest holding. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. owned 0.93% of Waste Connections worth $470,524,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other large investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 4.6% during the first quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 1,278 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $249,000 after buying an additional 56 shares during the period. MWA Asset Management boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 1.2% in the 1st quarter. MWA Asset Management now owns 4,783 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $934,000 after purchasing an additional 57 shares in the last quarter. Tranquility Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 1.4% in the 1st quarter. Tranquility Partners LLC now owns 4,354 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $850,000 after purchasing an additional 58 shares in the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 29.2% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 283 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc lifted its holdings in Waste Connections by 28.9% during the 1st quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 290 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 65 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WCN. Melius Research raised Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $213.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their target price on Waste Connections from $221.00 to $219.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 25th. National Bank Financial upgraded Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 26th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Waste Connections from $216.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $215.00.

Waste Connections Price Performance

NYSE WCN traded up $2.67 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $190.56. The company's stock had a trading volume of 1,090,708 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,251,509. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.36 and a 1-year high of $201.66. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.24 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 76.84, a P/E/G ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The company's 50-day moving average is $186.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $189.47.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.39 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.97% and a return on equity of 15.72%. Waste Connections's quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.24 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 6th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.81%.

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.