Elefante Mark B Takes Position in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Elefante Mark B purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm purchased 12,461 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,077,000.

A number of other large investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. Nicholas Company Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 32.4% during the fourth quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. now owns 449,112 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $78,756,000 after purchasing an additional 109,950 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC increased its position in Waste Connections by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 669,442 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $117,394,000 after purchasing an additional 7,866 shares during the period. Mirabaud Asset Management Ltd increased its position in Waste Connections by 28.9% during the 4th quarter. Mirabaud Asset Management Ltd now owns 56,620 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,754,000 after purchasing an additional 12,680 shares during the period. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 16.2% during the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 60,140 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,546,000 after purchasing an additional 8,363 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Everstar Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth approximately $2,100,000. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on WCN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, August 7th. UBS Group restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $176.00 target price (up from $170.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $199.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, July 24th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.89.

Insider Activity at Waste Connections

In related news, COO Jason Craft sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.59, for a total value of $234,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 32,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,145,703.99. The trade was a 4.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.57, for a total value of $416,425.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 734 shares in the company, 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. Insiders sold 14,311 shares of company stock worth $2,303,997 over the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of WCN opened at $169.81 on Monday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $146.89 and a 52-week high of $188.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.66. The business’s 50 day moving average price is $166.53 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $163.13. The firm has a market cap of $42.72 billion, a PE ratio of 40.92, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.48.

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

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

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

Waste Connections 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.