Erste Asset Management GmbH Buys 10,500 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Key Points

• Erste Asset Management GmbH increased its stake in Waste Connections by 76.4% in the fourth quarter, buying an additional 10,500 shares to bring its total holding to 24,243 shares worth about $4.33 million.
• Waste Connections reported quarterly earnings of $1.23 per share, beating analyst expectations, though revenue of $2.33 billion came in below estimates. The company also lifted revenue 6.4% year over year and is expected to earn 5.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share and has seen mixed insider activity, with CEO Ronald J. Mittelstaedt buying 50,000 shares while COO Jason Craft sold 1,500 shares. Analysts currently rate the stock a Moderate Buy with an average target price of $202.84.

Erste Asset Management GmbH grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 76.4% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 24,243 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 10,500 shares during the period. Erste Asset Management GmbH's holdings in Waste Connections were worth $4,325,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections in the 1st quarter worth approximately $577,000. Invesco Ltd. increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 219,290 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $40,946,000 after acquiring an additional 24,948 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 688 shares in the last quarter. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,714,000. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 17,197 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Connections Trading Up 2.6%

WCN stock opened at $157.63 on Wednesday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $146.89 and a 1-year high of $192.72. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of $39.99 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 38.45, a PEG ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.51. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $158.01 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $165.46.

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

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

WCN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Stifel Nicolaus set a $213.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. 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 report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays set a $180.00 price objective on Waste Connections and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a "buy" rating and issued a $211.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Waste Connections from a "hold (c+)" rating to a "hold (c)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 13th. Three investment 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. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $202.84.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Connections news, COO Jason Craft sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 32,861 shares in the company, valued at $5,145,703.99. This represents a 4.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CEO Ronald J. Mittelstaedt purchased 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $152.24 per share, with a total value of $7,612,000.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the chief executive officer directly owned 301,017 shares in the company, valued at $45,826,828.08. This trade represents a 19.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 17,605 shares of company stock worth $2,822,923 over the last ninety days. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Connections Company 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.

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