Rench Wealth Management Inc. Acquires Shares of 16,540 Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Key Points

• Rench Wealth Management acquired 16,540 shares of Waste Connections during the second quarter, valued at approximately $2.76 million. Institutional investors collectively own 86.09% of the company.
• Waste Connections reported quarterly EPS of $1.50, beating estimates by $0.15, while revenue reached $2.56 billion, up 6.4% year over year. Analysts expect full-year EPS of approximately $5.62.
• The stock recently traded at $161.16 and pays a quarterly dividend of $0.35, equivalent to a 0.9% yield. Analysts maintain a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating with an average price target of $200.89.

Rench Wealth Management Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 16,540 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $2,757,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WCN. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Group One Trading LLC acquired a new position in Waste Connections during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its position in Waste Connections by 1,166.7% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in Waste Connections by 346.2% in the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 174 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new position in Waste Connections in the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Waste Connections Trading Down 1.2%

WCN opened at $161.16 on Thursday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12-month low of $146.89 and a 12-month high of $179.74. 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 has a market capitalization of $40.54 billion, a PE ratio of 38.83, a P/E/G ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.48. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $167.77 and its 200 day moving average price is $163.08.

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, 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%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.29 EPS. As a group, research analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 6th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 33.73%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on WCN shares. Citigroup lifted their price objective 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. 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an "overweight" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a "neutral" rating and issued a $176.00 price objective (up from $170.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $200.89.

Insider Transactions at Waste Connections

In related news, SVP Robert Cloninger sold 2,811 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.02, for a total value of $480,737.22. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 11,666 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,995,119.32. The trade was a 19.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.57, for a total value of $416,425.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 734 shares in the company, 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. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

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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