Two Sigma Investments LP Decreases Stock Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Two Sigma Investments LP decreased its position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 14.7% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 972,951 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 167,196 shares during the period. Two Sigma Investments LP owned about 0.38% of Waste Connections worth $166,939,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Waste Connections during the 4th quarter valued at approximately $687,935,000. FIL Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 46.2% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 7,177,724 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,231,368,000 after buying an additional 2,269,652 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth approximately $240,422,000. Capital International Investors increased 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 worth $1,020,672,000 after buying an additional 899,058 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 239.9% in the fourth quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 647,727 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $115,558,000 after acquiring an additional 457,137 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Waste Connections Price Performance

NYSE WCN opened at $191.94 on Monday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $192.60 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $186.44. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52 week low of $160.34 and a 52 week high of $201.66. The stock has a market cap of $49.59 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 80.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.06. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 6.92%. The business had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.04 earnings per share. The business's revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be paid a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.66%. Waste Connections's payout ratio is 51.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have weighed in on WCN shares. Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $209.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, April 29th. William Blair initiated coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. They set an "outperform" rating on the stock. Seaport Res Ptn raised Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Waste Connections from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Waste Connections from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $208.21.

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.

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