Cumberland Partners Ltd Sells 1,900 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Key Points

• Cumberland Partners Ltd has reduced its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. by 7.3%, now owning 24,140 shares after selling 1,900 shares during the first quarter.
• Waste Connections' recent earnings report showed an EPS of $1.29, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.25, with revenue increasing by 7.1% year-over-year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.315 per share, with an annualized yield of 0.7%, to be paid on August 21st.

Cumberland Partners Ltd cut its position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 7.3% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 24,140 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,900 shares during the period. Cumberland Partners Ltd's holdings in Waste Connections were worth $4,705,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WCN. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in Waste Connections in the fourth quarter valued at $28,000. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Waste Connections by 122.0% in the first quarter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. now owns 182 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the period. Oarsman Capital Inc. grew its position in Waste Connections by 41.4% in the fourth quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 222 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Waste Connections by 994.4% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 197 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the period. Finally, Global Financial Private Client LLC grew its position in Waste Connections by 890.0% in the first quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 198 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts have commented on the company. Citigroup reduced their price objective on Waste Connections from $208.00 to $204.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Waste Connections from $197.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on Waste Connections from $221.00 to $219.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Melius Research raised Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $213.00 price objective on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Finally, National Bank Financial raised Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 26th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.00.

Waste Connections Trading Down 0.0%

NYSE:WCN traded down $0.03 during mid-day trading on Friday, hitting $186.64. The company had a trading volume of 1,129,567 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,421,564. Waste Connections, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.36 and a fifty-two week high of $201.66. The business's fifty day moving average is $187.34 and its two-hundred day moving average is $189.08. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market cap of $48.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.26, a P/E/G ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.58.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.04. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 6.97%. The firm had revenue of $2.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.24 earnings per share. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 6th will be issued a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 6th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is 50.81%.

Waste Connections Company Profile

Waste Connections, Inc provides non-hazardous waste collection, transfer, disposal, and resource recovery services in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services to residential, commercial, municipal, industrial, and exploration and production (E&P) customers; landfill disposal services; and recycling services for various recyclable materials, including compost, cardboard, mixed paper, plastic containers, glass bottles, and ferrous and aluminum metals.