Legal & General Group Plc purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN – Free Report) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 1,146,384 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $191,057,000.
Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Connections during the 1st quarter worth $577,000. Invesco Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 12.8% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 219,290 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,946,000 after purchasing an additional 24,948 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 2.9% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 24,463 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,572,000 after purchasing an additional 688 shares during the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in Waste Connections in the second quarter valued at about $2,714,000. Finally, State Street Corp lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 1.0% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,808,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $337,708,000 after buying an additional 17,197 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.
Analyst Ratings Changes
WCN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on Waste Connections from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 13th. TD Cowen reissued 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. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $176.00 price target (up from $170.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $199.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.89.
Waste Connections Price Performance
Shares of NYSE WCN opened at $167.32 on Thursday. The firm has a market cap of $42.09 billion, a PE ratio of 40.32, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $146.89 and a 1-year high of $185.33. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $167.25 and a 200 day moving average price of $163.12.
Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN – Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.29 EPS. Research analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.
Waste Connections Announces Dividend
The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th were given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 6th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.73%.
Insider Transactions at Waste Connections
In other news, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.57, for a total transaction of $416,425.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $122,262.38. This trade represents a 77.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Jason Craft sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.59, for a total transaction of $234,885.00. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer 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 SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold a total of 14,311 shares of company stock worth $2,303,997 in the last 90 days. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
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.
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