Capital International Investors Grows Stock Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Key Points

• Capital International Investors increased its Waste Connections stake by 28.2% in the fourth quarter, buying 1.42 million more shares and bringing its total holding to 6.47 million shares worth about $1.13 billion.
• Wall Street remains bullish on WCN, with a consensus rating of Buy and an average price target of $203.35 after several firms reiterated or raised their targets.
• Waste Connections reported Q1 earnings of $1.23 per share, beating estimates, while revenue came in below expectations; the company also pays a quarterly dividend of $0.35, for a 0.9% yield.

Capital International Investors raised its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 28.2% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 6,468,259 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,420,921 shares during the period. Capital International Investors owned about 2.53% of Waste Connections worth $1,134,781,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Several other large investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Waste Connections by 2.3% in the 3rd quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,585,284 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,552,682,000 after buying an additional 717,440 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its holdings 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 valued at $1,078,536,000 after acquiring an additional 918,245 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings 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 valued at $783,218,000 after acquiring an additional 1,264,150 shares in the last quarter. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the fourth quarter valued at about $697,519,000. Finally, Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 5.7% in the fourth quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 3,508,405 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $615,278,000 after acquiring an additional 190,123 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WCN has been the topic of a number of research reports. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $208.00 price target (up from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, April 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $218.00 price target (up from $210.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, April 24th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, March 13th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $199.00 price target for the company. Scotiabank set a $197.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Four 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, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $203.35.

Waste Connections Trading Up 0.9%

NYSE:WCN opened at $155.29 on Friday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a one year low of $146.89 and a one year high of $193.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $39.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.51. The firm has a 50-day simple moving average of $158.05 and a 200-day simple moving average of $165.73.

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

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th were given 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 dividend yield of 0.9%. Waste Connections's payout ratio is presently 34.15%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Connections

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

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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