Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) is Catawba River Capital’s 9th Largest Position

Catawba River Capital lowered its position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 0.5% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 48,487 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 260 shares during the period. Waste Connections makes up approximately 5.0% of Catawba River Capital’s portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest position. Catawba River Capital’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $8,319,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 307.1% in the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,927,155 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $344,615,000 after buying an additional 1,453,733 shares during the period. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 432.6% in the 3rd quarter. BRITISH COLUMBIA INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT Corp now owns 1,259,312 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $225,078,000 after acquiring an additional 1,022,851 shares during the period. National Bank of Canada FI lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 35.3% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 2,678,562 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $478,777,000 after acquiring an additional 699,012 shares during the last quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 44.2% during the 3rd quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 1,964,082 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $351,037,000 after purchasing an additional 602,055 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 199.4% during the third quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 591,250 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $105,727,000 after buying an additional 393,763 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WCN has been the topic of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $197.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price target on Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on Waste Connections from $206.00 to $214.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $199.06.

Waste Connections Price Performance

WCN stock opened at $189.66 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $179.50 and its 200 day moving average price is $181.23. The firm has a market cap of $48.95 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.10, a PEG ratio of 2.97 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a current ratio of 0.77. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $153.07 and a 1 year high of $194.83.

Waste Connections Company 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.