Franklin Resources Inc. Trims Stock Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Key Points

• Franklin Resources reduced its stake in Waste Connections by 9.5% in Q3, selling 127,455 shares and now owning 1,212,565 shares (about $213.16M, ~0.47% of the company).
• Hedge funds and institutions hold 86.09% of WCN; several other institutional investors adjusted positions, and Wall Street’s consensus rating is Buy with a consensus price target of $203.75.
• Waste Connections has a market cap of $42.7B and a P/E of 40.06, reported $1.29 EPS (slightly above estimates) with revenue up 5% year-over-year, and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.35 (annual yield ≈0.8%).

Franklin Resources Inc. decreased its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 9.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,212,565 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 127,455 shares during the quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. owned approximately 0.47% of Waste Connections worth $213,164,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the 1st quarter worth about $577,000. Savant Capital LLC lifted its position in Waste Connections by 20.6% during the 2nd quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 3,853 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $719,000 after acquiring an additional 658 shares during the period. Vestmark Advisory Solutions Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Connections during the second quarter worth about $382,000. Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Connections during the second quarter worth about $1,296,000. Finally, CENTRAL TRUST Co grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 6.3% in the second quarter. CENTRAL TRUST Co now owns 8,221 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,535,000 after purchasing an additional 484 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WCN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. UBS Group set a $205.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Monday, January 5th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $210.00 price target (down from $219.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Tuesday, February 17th. Stifel Nicolaus set a $213.00 price objective on Waste Connections and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Waste Connections from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued an "overweight" rating and a $186.00 target price on the stock. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $203.75.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of WCN opened at $167.05 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.71 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.06, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.62. Waste Connections, Inc. has a one year low of $155.65 and a one year high of $201.66. The business has a fifty day moving average of $167.80 and a 200 day moving average of $172.04.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.28 by $0.01. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 16.25% and a net margin of 11.37%.The business had revenue of $2.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.37 billion. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.16 earnings per share. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, February 25th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is currently 33.57%.

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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