Harber Asset Management LLC Buys Shares of 24,594 Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Key Points

• Harber Asset Management initiated a position in Waste Connections by purchasing 24,594 shares valued at approximately $4.1 million, representing about 2.5% of the fund’s holdings.
• Institutional investors own 86.09% of Waste Connections, with major additions from BlackRock, Norges Bank, Capital International Investors, Deutsche Bank and JPMorgan Chase.
• Waste Connections exceeded quarterly earnings and revenue expectations, reporting $1.50 in EPS and $2.56 billion in revenue. Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus with an average price target of $200.89, while the company pays a $0.35 quarterly dividend.

Harber Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund purchased 24,594 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $4,100,000. Waste Connections makes up approximately 2.5% of Harber Asset Management LLC's holdings, making the stock its 19th largest holding.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Connections in the second quarter worth $1,061,947,000. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Waste Connections during the fourth quarter valued at about $697,519,000. Capital International Investors raised its position in Waste Connections by 28.2% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,468,259 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,134,781,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420,921 shares in the last quarter. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in Waste Connections during the second quarter worth about $235,075,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 37.1% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,763,742 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $835,370,000 after purchasing an additional 1,289,042 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Waste Connections Price Performance

WCN opened at $169.81 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The stock's 50 day simple moving average is $166.53 and its 200 day simple moving average is $163.17. The firm has a market cap of $42.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.92, a PEG ratio of 2.89 and a beta of 0.48. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $146.89 and a 1 year high of $188.09.

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

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th were paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 6th. Waste Connections's payout ratio is presently 33.73%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WCN. UBS Group restated a "neutral" rating and issued a $176.00 target price (up from $170.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 13th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and issued a $208.00 price objective (up from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $199.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reiterated a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Two 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $200.89.

Insider Activity

In related news, 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 transaction of $234,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, 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 filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.57, for a total transaction of $416,425.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 734 shares of the company's stock, valued at $122,262.38. The trade was a 77.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 14,311 shares of company stock valued at $2,303,997. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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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