TimesSquare Capital Management LLC Sells 77,003 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

TimesSquare Capital Management LLC lowered its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 9.7% during the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The fund owned 720,729 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 77,003 shares during the period. Waste Connections accounts for about 1.6% of TimesSquare Capital Management LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 9th biggest holding. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $107,583,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WCN. Pacifica Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the fourth quarter valued at about $25,000. Headinvest LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Operose Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at approximately $40,000. Rational Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the third quarter worth approximately $41,000. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth $61,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on the stock. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $136.00 to $163.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 18th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $153.00 to $175.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Thursday, February 15th. Wells Fargo & Company increased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on Waste Connections from $146.50 to $179.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, CIBC increased their target price on Waste Connections from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.33.

Waste Connections Trading Up 0.5 %

Shares of WCN stock traded up $0.77 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $166.17. 410,636 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 921,620. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $126.12 and a 1 year high of $173.02. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $167.53 and a 200 day moving average of $153.68. The firm has a market cap of $42.88 billion, a PE ratio of 53.95, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.02. The company had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.05 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 14.66%. Waste Connections’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.89 EPS. Analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.81 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be given a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.69%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, May 7th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.01%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Andrea E. Bertone sold 902 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, February 22nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.17, for a total value of $152,591.34. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.31% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.