Cibc World Market Inc. Invests $278.74 Million in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Cibc World Market Inc. acquired a new stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 1,673,823 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $278,743,000.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in WCN. XXEC Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Connections during the 2nd quarter worth about $164,870,000. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,061,947,000. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Waste Connections in the 4th quarter valued at about $697,519,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 2nd quarter worth about $414,481,000. Finally, Atlas FRM LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 2nd quarter worth about $251,701,900,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have recently weighed in on WCN shares. UBS Group reissued a “neutral” rating and issued a $176.00 price objective (up from $170.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on Waste Connections from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Barclays increased their price target on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.89.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Waste Connections stock opened at $169.81 on Monday. The company has a market cap of $42.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.66. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12 month low of $146.89 and a 12 month high of $188.09. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $166.53 and its 200-day moving average is $163.13.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 17.31%. Waste Connections’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.29 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is 33.73%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Patrick James Shea sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.26, for a total value of $1,171,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 19,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,084,103.62. This represents a 27.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.57, for a total value of $416,425.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $122,262.38. This trade represents a 77.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 14,311 shares of company stock valued at $2,303,997. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Waste Connections Company Profile

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.