Nykredit A S Makes New Investment in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Key Points

• Nykredit A/S purchased 50,806 shares of Waste Connections in the second quarter, valued at approximately $8.5 million. Institutional investors collectively own 86.09% of the company.
• Analysts remain broadly positive, with the stock carrying a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $202.42. Recent targets range from $187 to $210.
• Waste Connections exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $1.50 in EPS versus $1.35 expected and $2.56 billion in revenue, up 6.4% year over year. The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, representing a 0.9% yield.

Nykredit A S purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm purchased 50,806 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $8,469,000.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WCN. Royal Bank of Canada grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 12,210,661 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,983,500,000 after purchasing an additional 106,763 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised 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 during the period. BlackRock Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Connections in the second quarter worth $1,061,947,000. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 37.1% in 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. Finally, Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Waste Connections during the fourth quarter valued at about $697,519,000. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Connections

In other Waste Connections news, SVP Robert Cloninger sold 2,811 shares of the firm's 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,666 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,995,119.32. This trade represents a 19.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,500 shares of the business's 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 owned 734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $122,262.38. This trade represents a 77.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. Barclays raised their price objective on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on Waste Connections in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. They set an "outperform" rating and a $204.00 target price for the company. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating and set a $210.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, July 24th. UBS Group raised Waste Connections from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $176.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Friday. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an "outperform" rating and set a $199.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $202.42.

Waste Connections Stock Up 0.0%

Shares of Waste Connections stock opened at $155.41 on Monday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $166.07 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $162.61. The company has a market cap of $39.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.45, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.48. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12-month low of $146.89 and a 12-month high of $179.74.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results 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. The firm had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.51 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.29 EPS. Research analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.62 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

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

About Waste Connections

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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