Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Position Boosted by Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.

Key Points

• Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 136.2% during the first quarter, owning 3,000 shares valued at $586,000 at the end of the quarter.
• Waste Connections reported quarterly earnings of $1.29 per share, beating estimates by $0.04, with revenues of $2.41 billion, a 7.1% increase year-over-year.
• The company will pay a quarterly dividend of $0.315 per share on August 21st, with a current annualized yield of 0.7% and a payout ratio of 50.81%.

Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. raised its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 136.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 3,000 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,730 shares during the quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc.'s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $586,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 8,644,222 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,481,041,000 after purchasing an additional 356,798 shares in the last quarter. FIL Ltd raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 46.2% during the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 7,177,724 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,231,368,000 after purchasing an additional 2,269,652 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 0.3% during the first quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 6,383,780 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,230,984,000 after purchasing an additional 18,400 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,949,152 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,020,672,000 after purchasing an additional 899,058 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 2.7% during the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,736,179 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $984,214,000 after purchasing an additional 150,683 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Connections Trading Down 0.0%

WCN traded down $0.03 during trading on Friday, reaching $186.64. The company had a trading volume of 1,129,567 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,365,086. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $187.54 and its 200 day simple moving average is $188.92. The company has a market cap of $48.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.26, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.58. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.36 and a 12-month 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.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last issued 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 analysts' expectations of $2.39 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 6.97%. Waste Connections's revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.24 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders 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 payout ratio is 50.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WCN has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup cut their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $208.00 to $204.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $216.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on Waste Connections from $224.00 to $211.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. National Bank Financial raised Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their target price on Waste Connections from $221.00 to $219.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.00.

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.