WINTON GROUP Ltd Purchases New Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Key Points

• WINTON GROUP Ltd opened a new position in Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) in Q3, buying 25,900 shares (~$4.55M); overall hedge funds and institutional investors now own about 86.09% of the stock as several other funds also adjusted their stakes.
• WCN is trading around $171.71 with a market cap of $43.9B and a P/E of ~41; the company slightly beat EPS (1.29 vs. 1.28), reported revenue up 5% year-over-year, announced a quarterly dividend of $0.35 (0.8% yield), and carries an analyst consensus of "Buy" with an average price target of $203.75.

WINTON GROUP Ltd acquired a new position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 25,900 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,553,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. PFG Advisors raised its position in Waste Connections by 10.4% during the third quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 30,479 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,358,000 after buying an additional 2,860 shares during the period. Altman Advisors Inc. grew its stake in Waste Connections by 1.1% during the 3rd quarter. Altman Advisors Inc. now owns 11,539 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,029,000 after acquiring an additional 127 shares in the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 2.4% in the 3rd quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 661,576 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $116,305,000 after purchasing an additional 15,749 shares during the period. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the third quarter worth approximately $1,911,000. Finally, Natixis Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 3.2% during the third quarter. Natixis Advisors LLC now owns 192,799 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $33,894,000 after purchasing an additional 5,896 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Connections Stock Up 0.9%

Shares of WCN stock opened at $171.71 on Tuesday. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $168.39 and its 200 day simple moving average is $172.25. Waste Connections, Inc. has a twelve month low of $155.65 and a twelve month high of $201.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62. The company has a market capitalization of $43.90 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 41.18, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.62.

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

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. Waste Connections's payout ratio is currently 33.57%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WCN has been the topic of several research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Oppenheimer reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $205.00 price objective (down from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, January 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Waste Connections in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They issued a "buy" rating and a $202.00 target price on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane initiated coverage on Waste Connections in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Finally, Citigroup reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $183.00 target price (down from $196.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, January 16th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $203.75.

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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