Gradient Investments LLC Cuts Stock Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Key Points

• Gradient Investments LLC reduced its Waste Connections stake by 8.5% in the second quarter, selling 12,306 shares and retaining 132,564 shares worth approximately $22.1 million. Institutional investors collectively own 86.09% of the company.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a “Moderate Buy” consensus and an average price target of $200.89. Recent targets include $210 from TD Cowen and $211 from Goldman Sachs.
• Waste Connections beat quarterly expectations with adjusted EPS of $1.50 versus a $1.35 estimate and revenue of $2.56 billion, up 6.4% year over year. The company also declared a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, representing a 0.8% annualized yield.

Gradient Investments LLC decreased its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 8.5% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 132,564 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 12,306 shares during the quarter. Gradient Investments LLC owned approximately 0.05% of Waste Connections worth $22,097,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in WCN. Norges Bank purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth about $697,519,000. Capital International Investors grew its position in Waste Connections by 28.2% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,468,259 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,134,781,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420,921 shares in the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its stake in Waste Connections by 37.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,763,742 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $835,370,000 after buying an additional 1,289,042 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its stake in Waste Connections by 39.6% in the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,455,162 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $783,218,000 after buying an additional 1,264,150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 48.7% during the 1st quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,724,204 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $604,573,000 after buying an additional 1,219,056 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WCN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, July 24th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $208.00 price target (up from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays lifted their price target on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued 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 note on Wednesday, May 13th. Two 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $200.89.

Waste Connections Stock Down 0.4%

WCN opened at $166.66 on Friday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a twelve month low of $146.89 and a twelve month high of $191.00. The company's 50-day moving average price is $163.99 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $163.27. The stock has a market cap of $42.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.16, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 17.31%. Waste Connections's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.29 EPS. As a group, equities analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 6th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 6th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.73%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Connections

In other Waste Connections news, VP Patrick James Shea sold 7,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.26, for a total value of $1,171,950.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 19,737 shares in the company, valued at $3,084,103.62. The trade was a 27.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Jason Craft sold 1,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.59, for a total value of $234,885.00. Following 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 disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders have sold 11,811 shares of company stock valued at $1,887,572. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Waste Connections 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.

Continue following MarketBeat

Add MarketBeat as your preferred source on Google to see our latest stories in your feed.

Add As Preferred Source