Sunriver Management LLC Takes $52.42 Million Position in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Key Points

• Sunriver Management LLC opened a new position in Waste Connections, buying 322,683 shares worth about $52.4 million. The stake makes WCN Sunriver’s third-largest holding and about 8.9% of its portfolio.
• Waste Connections recently beat quarterly earnings expectations, reporting $1.50 EPS versus the $1.35 estimate and revenue of $2.56 billion, up 6.4% year over year. Analysts still view the stock favorably, with a Moderate Buy consensus and an average price target of $202.05.
• The company also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, payable on August 20, which annualizes to $1.40 per share for a 0.8% yield. Meanwhile, several insiders sold shares in recent months, including the COO and a vice president.

Sunriver Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 322,683 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $52,417,000. Waste Connections accounts for about 8.9% of Sunriver Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 3rd largest holding. Sunriver Management LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Waste Connections as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Healthcare of Ontario Pension Plan Trust Fund acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 1st quarter valued at about $29,604,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC raised its position in Waste Connections by 43.9% in the first quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC now owns 143,461 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $23,304,000 after purchasing an additional 43,800 shares in the last quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC raised its position in Waste Connections by 1.1% in the first quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC now owns 188,033 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $30,544,000 after purchasing an additional 2,011 shares in the last quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 2.9% during the first quarter. Gamco Investors INC. ET AL now owns 84,797 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $13,774,000 after purchasing an additional 2,424 shares during the period. Finally, Modern Wealth Management LLC lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 195.6% during the first quarter. Modern Wealth Management LLC now owns 4,862 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $792,000 after purchasing an additional 3,217 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WCN shares. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a "buy" rating and issued a $211.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated an "outperform" rating and set a $199.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price target on 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 reiterated an "outperform" rating and issued a $208.00 price target (up from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Citigroup increased their price objective on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Two investment 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $202.05.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of WCN stock opened at $169.52 on Friday. The stock's fifty day moving average is $161.36 and its 200-day moving average is $163.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $42.78 billion, a PE ratio of 40.85, a PEG ratio of 2.94 and a beta of 0.49. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52 week low of $146.89 and a 52 week high of $191.91.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.15. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 10.86%.The business had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.29 earnings per share. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed 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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 6th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.73%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Connections

In other news, COO Jason Craft sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 32,861 shares of the company's stock, valued at $5,145,703.99. This represents a 4.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, VP Patrick James Shea sold 7,500 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.26, for a total transaction of $1,171,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 19,737 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $3,084,103.62. This represents a 27.54% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 17,605 shares of company stock worth $2,822,923. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Waste Connections Company 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.

Want to see what other hedge funds are holding WCN? Visit HoldingsChannel.com to get the latest 13F filings and insider trades for Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report).

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.