Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. Has $11.01 Million Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Key Points

• Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. increased its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. by 106.6% in Q1, holding approximately $11.01 million worth of shares after acquiring additional stock during the period.
• Waste Connections reported earnings of $1.29 per share for its latest quarter, surpassing analysts' estimates and showing a 7.1% year-over-year revenue increase.
• The company recently declared a quarterly dividend of $0.315, with an annual yield of 0.7% and a payout ratio of 50.81%.

Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P. grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 106.6% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 56,462 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 29,137 shares during the period. Northwest & Ethical Investments L.P.'s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $11,012,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 3.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,247,244 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,901,049,000 after buying an additional 954,242 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 0.3% in 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 buying an additional 18,400 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 17.8% in 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 buying an additional 899,058 shares during the period. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 2.7% in 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 buying an additional 150,683 shares during the period. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 5.8% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 4,575,547 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $892,023,000 after buying an additional 250,684 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Connections Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of NYSE:WCN opened at $184.78 on Friday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $185.91 and a 200-day moving average of $189.61. The company has a market capitalization of $47.75 billion, a PE ratio of 74.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.58. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.36 and a 52-week high of $201.66.

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

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on the company. National Bank Financial upgraded Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 26th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Raymond James Financial lowered their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $224.00 to $211.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Citigroup lowered their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $208.00 to $204.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, CIBC restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $215.00.

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.

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