XTX Topco Ltd Buys 6,620 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

XTX Topco Ltd raised its position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 83.7% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 14,525 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 6,620 shares during the quarter. XTX Topco Ltd’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $2,492,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 307.1% during the third quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,927,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $344,615,000 after buying an additional 1,453,733 shares in the last quarter. Barclays PLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 34.3% in the 3rd quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 303,040 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,190,000 after acquiring an additional 77,466 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 11.4% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 190,590 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,207,000 after purchasing an additional 19,496 shares during the last quarter. Virtu Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the third quarter valued at about $1,586,000. Finally, Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the third quarter valued at about $188,000. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Up 1.5 %

WCN opened at $194.74 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $189.47 and a 200 day moving average of $183.76. 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, Inc. has a 12 month low of $160.34 and a 12 month high of $201.66. The company has a market cap of $50.31 billion, a PE ratio of 81.48, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.67.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.04). Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 6.92%. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th were given a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is presently 52.72%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on WCN shares. CIBC decreased their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, December 19th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com cut Waste Connections from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Waste Connections from $218.00 to $209.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 8th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.43.

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.