Centaurus Financial Inc. Sells 1,267 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Centaurus Financial Inc. cut its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 3.7% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm owned 32,814 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 1,267 shares during the period. Centaurus Financial Inc.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $5,868,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors have also recently bought and sold shares of WCN. Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at about $36,000. Asset Dedication LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at about $41,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections in the first quarter valued at about $43,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections in the second quarter valued at about $45,000. Finally, Kennebec Savings Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at about $47,000. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WCN shares. Eight Capital raised Waste Connections to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 9th. Citigroup raised their target price on Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. Raymond James reduced their price objective on Waste Connections from $208.00 to $205.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $195.56.

Waste Connections Stock Up 0.5 %

Shares of NYSE:WCN opened at $189.87 on Friday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $132.15 and a 52-week high of $190.77. The firm has a market capitalization of $49.00 billion, a P/E ratio of 52.16, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.72. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $181.07 and a 200-day moving average price of $177.65. 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 (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.43% and a net margin of 10.81%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.17 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 14th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, November 7th were paid a $0.315 dividend. This is an increase from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.66%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, November 7th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.62%.

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.