Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Position Lessened by TCW Group Inc.

TCW Group Inc. reduced its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 4.9% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 687,091 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 35,335 shares during the quarter. Waste Connections accounts for 1.0% of TCW Group Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th largest position. TCW Group Inc. owned about 0.27% of Waste Connections worth $117,891,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other large investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Connections in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $26,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Connections in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC increased its position in Waste Connections by 58.0% in the 3rd quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 226 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $42,000 after acquiring an additional 83 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several analysts recently commented on WCN shares. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Waste Connections from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com cut Waste Connections from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $201.00.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WCN opened at $187.41 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.41, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.77. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $179.73 and its 200 day simple moving average is $182.01. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $160.34 and a 52-week high of $194.83.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.04). Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 6.92%. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be given a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, February 27th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.72%.

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.