FORA Capital LLC Takes Position in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Key Points

• FORA Capital opened a new position in Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) in Q3, buying 9,093 shares valued at about $1.60 million.
• The stock is heavily institutionally held (about 86.09%); Vanguard now owns ~31.59 million shares and Mackenzie ~6.14 million after sizable Q3 increases.
• Analysts have a consensus "Buy" rating with an average price target of $203.52 versus the recent share price of $166.51, implying notable upside.

FORA Capital LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund bought 9,093 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,599,000.

A number of other large investors have also bought and sold shares of WCN. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Waste Connections by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,585,284 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,552,682,000 after purchasing an additional 717,440 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 17.6% during the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 6,136,218 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,078,536,000 after purchasing an additional 918,245 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the second quarter valued at $755,938,000. 1832 Asset Management L.P. increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 3.4% in the second quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,995,575 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $746,054,000 after buying an additional 132,455 shares in the last quarter. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 1.0% in the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 3,474,700 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $610,853,000 after buying an additional 35,720 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WCN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $205.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Monday, January 5th. Oppenheimer reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $205.00 target price (down from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Scotiabank set a $197.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They set a "buy" rating and a $202.00 price target on the stock. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce set a $208.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, January 8th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $203.52.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE:WCN opened at $166.51 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.62, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $155.65 and a 1-year high of $201.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.57 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.93, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.62. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $167.64 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $171.93.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Waste Connections had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.25%. The company had revenue of $2.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.37 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.16 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.57%.

About Waste Connections

Waste Connections NYSE: WCN is a North American integrated waste services company that provides a range of solid waste and environmental services to municipal, commercial, industrial and residential customers. The company offers collection, transportation, transfer, disposal and recycling services, and operates an extensive network of transfer stations and disposal facilities. Waste Connections positions itself as a provider of infrastructure-driven waste solutions across many regions of the United States and Canada.

The company's operating activities include routine curbside and commercial collection, roll-off and container services, operation of landfills and transfer stations, and recycling and resource recovery programs.

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