Westerkirk Capital Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Westerkirk Capital Inc. trimmed its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 93.4% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 710 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 10,100 shares during the period. Westerkirk Capital Inc.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $125,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its stake in Waste Connections by 2.3% in the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,585,284 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,552,682,000 after purchasing an additional 717,440 shares during the period. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Waste Connections by 28.2% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,468,259 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,134,781,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420,921 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 17.6% in the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 6,136,218 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,078,536,000 after acquiring an additional 918,245 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 37.1% in the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,763,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $835,370,000 after acquiring an additional 1,289,042 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 39.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,455,162 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $783,218,000 after acquiring an additional 1,264,150 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Connections Trading Up 2.6%

Shares of NYSE:WCN opened at $157.63 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $39.99 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.45, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $146.89 and a 1 year high of $192.72. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $158.01 and its 200-day moving average price is $165.46.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 16.49% and a net margin of 10.97%.The firm had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.13 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 34.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CEO Ronald J. Mittelstaedt acquired 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $152.24 per share, with a total value of $7,612,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 301,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,826,828.08. This represents a 19.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP James Little sold 2,605 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.98, for a total value of $427,167.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 34,395 shares in the company, valued at $5,640,092.10. This trade represents a 7.04% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 17,605 shares of company stock valued at $2,822,923 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research firms have recently commented on WCN. Wolfe Research began coverage on Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, March 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $199.00 target price on the stock. Scotiabank set a $197.00 target price on Waste Connections and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings cut Waste Connections from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $211.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Barclays set a $180.00 target price on Waste Connections and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.84.

About Waste Connections

Waste Connections (NYSE: WCN) is a North American integrated waste services company that provides a range of solid waste and environmental services to municipal, commercial, industrial and residential customers. The company offers collection, transportation, transfer, disposal and recycling services, and operates an extensive network of transfer stations and disposal facilities. Waste Connections positions itself as a provider of infrastructure-driven waste solutions across many regions of the United States and Canada.

The company’s operating activities include routine curbside and commercial collection, roll-off and container services, operation of landfills and transfer stations, and recycling and resource recovery programs.