Deutsche Bank AG Sells 20,780 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Key Points

• Deutsche Bank AG reduced its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. by 2.3%, now holding 900,383 shares valued at approximately $175.7 million.
• Several institutional investors have increased their positions in Waste Connections, contributing to a total of 86.09% of the stock being held by hedge funds and other institutional investors.
• Waste Connections has a consensus rating of "Buy" among analysts, with an average price target of $215.00, and recently reported earnings that exceeded estimates with a 7.1% year-over-year revenue increase.

Deutsche Bank AG cut its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 2.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 900,383 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 20,780 shares during the period. Deutsche Bank AG owned 0.35% of Waste Connections worth $175,746,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WCN. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth $28,000. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 122.0% in the 1st quarter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. now owns 182 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $36,000 after buying an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 994.4% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 197 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 890.0% in the 1st quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 198 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 232.3% during the 1st quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 216 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Connections stock traded up $2.67 on Monday, reaching $190.56. 1,090,708 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,137,588. 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 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. The company's 50-day moving average is $186.51 and its two-hundred day moving average is $189.47. The firm has a market cap 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.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.39 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.97% and a return on equity of 15.72%. The business's revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. As a group, research 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 announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 6th will be paid a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 6th. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages have weighed in on WCN. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $221.00 to $219.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Citigroup cut their price objective on Waste Connections from $208.00 to $204.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Atb Cap Markets upgraded Waste Connections from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on Waste Connections from $197.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Finally, National Bank Financial upgraded Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 26th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $215.00.

Waste Connections Company 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.