National Pension Service Buys 31,393 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Key Points

• National Pension Service increased its Waste Connections stake by 8.3% in the second quarter, buying 31,393 shares to own 410,598 shares valued at approximately $68.4 million. Institutional investors collectively hold 86.09% of the company.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $200.89, despite some target-price adjustments and neutral or hold ratings.
• Waste Connections exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.50 in EPS versus the $1.35 consensus and $2.56 billion in revenue, up 6.4% year over year. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.35, equal to a 0.9% annualized yield.

National Pension Service boosted its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 8.3% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 410,598 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 31,393 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned about 0.16% of Waste Connections worth $68,443,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Cidel Asset Management Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 4.2% during the 2nd quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 198,091 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $33,006,000 after purchasing an additional 8,025 shares in the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC bought a new stake in Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter valued at about $397,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC increased its position in Waste Connections by 124.7% in the 2nd quarter. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC now owns 17,359 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,894,000 after buying an additional 9,634 shares in the last quarter. Maven Securities LTD acquired a new position in Waste Connections during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,976,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC raised its stake in Waste Connections by 43.5% during the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 12,900 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,150,000 after buying an additional 3,912 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Connections news, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.57, for a total transaction of $416,425.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $122,262.38. This trade represents a 77.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Robert Cloninger sold 2,811 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.02, for a total transaction of $480,737.22. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 11,666 shares in the company, valued at $1,995,119.32. This represents a 19.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have commented on WCN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Waste Connections from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $199.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Barclays increased their target price on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, Citigroup boosted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $200.89.

Waste Connections Price Performance

WCN stock opened at $159.74 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $40.19 billion, a P/E ratio of 38.49, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.74 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.66. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $146.89 and a 52-week high of $179.74. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $167.40 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $163.02.

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

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th were given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, August 6th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is presently 33.73%.

Waste Connections Profile

Waste Connections, Inc is an integrated solid waste services company that provides collection, transfer, disposal, recycling and resource-recovery services across the United States and Canada. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers through a network of collection operations, transfer stations, landfills and recycling facilities.

Its services include curbside and containerized waste collection, construction and demolition debris management, recycling, landfill disposal, and the management of non-hazardous oilfield waste.

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