Bluegrass Capital Partners LP Reduces Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Key Points

• Bluegrass Capital Partners LP cut its Waste Connections stake by 64.3% in the fourth quarter, selling 9,000 shares and leaving it with 5,000 shares worth about $877,000.
• Several analysts remain bullish on WCN, with firms including BMO Capital Markets and JPMorgan raising or reaffirming positive ratings; the stock currently has a consensus Buy rating and a price target of about $203.35.
• Waste Connections reported better-than-expected quarterly EPS of $1.23, though revenue came in below estimates, and the company recently paid a $0.35 quarterly dividend for an annualized yield of about 0.9%.

Bluegrass Capital Partners LP lowered its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 64.3% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 5,000 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 9,000 shares during the quarter. Waste Connections makes up about 0.5% of Bluegrass Capital Partners LP's investment portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest holding. Bluegrass Capital Partners LP's holdings in Waste Connections were worth $877,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 1st quarter worth approximately $577,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its position in Waste Connections by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 219,290 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $40,946,000 after buying an additional 24,948 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 24,463 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,572,000 after purchasing an additional 688 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter worth $2,714,000. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,808,631 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $337,708,000 after buying an additional 17,197 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WCN has been the topic of several research reports. BMO Capital Markets reissued an "outperform" rating and issued a $208.00 target price (up from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, April 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their target price on Waste Connections from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Morgan Stanley set a $205.00 target price on Waste Connections and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, March 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $199.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $212.00 price objective on Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $203.35.

Insider Transactions at Waste Connections

In related news, VP James Little sold 2,605 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.98, for a total value of $427,167.90. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 34,395 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,640,092.10. This represents a 7.04% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Eric Hansen sold 6,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.82, for a total value of $988,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 13,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,200,347. The trade was a 31.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of Waste Connections stock opened at $155.77 on Friday. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $160.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $166.78. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52 week low of $148.84 and a 52 week high of $198.00. The company has a market capitalization of $39.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.99, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.55. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13.

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

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th were issued a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 6th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is presently 34.15%.

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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