Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN Stock Holdings Cut by Engineers Gate Manager LP

Key Points

• Engineers Gate Manager LP cut its Waste Connections position by 91% in the second quarter, selling 37,481 shares and retaining 3,700 shares valued at approximately $617,000. Institutional investors collectively own 86.09% of the company.
• Waste Connections reported quarterly EPS of $1.50, exceeding the $1.35 analyst consensus, while revenue rose 6.4% year over year to $2.56 billion. The company also paid a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, representing a 0.9% yield.
• Analysts maintain a generally positive outlook, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average price target of $202.42, well above the reported share price of $155.46.

Engineers Gate Manager LP cut its position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 91.0% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 3,700 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 37,481 shares during the quarter. Engineers Gate Manager LP's holdings in Waste Connections were worth $617,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WCN. Cidel Asset Management Inc. lifted 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 valued at $33,006,000 after acquiring an additional 8,025 shares during the last quarter. Pinnacle Wealth Management Advisory Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the second quarter valued at $397,000. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC boosted its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 9,634 shares during the period. Maven Securities LTD acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter valued at $2,976,000. Finally, NewEdge Advisors LLC increased its stake in Waste Connections by 43.5% in the 2nd quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 12,900 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,150,000 after purchasing an additional 3,912 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Waste Connections Stock Up 0.1%

Shares of Waste Connections stock opened at $155.46 on Tuesday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12-month low of $146.89 and a 12-month high of $179.74. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $165.76 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $162.49. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.11 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.46, a PEG ratio of 2.67 and a beta of 0.48.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $2.56 billion for 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 company's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.29 earnings per share. Equities analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

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 dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 6th. Waste Connections's payout ratio is currently 33.73%.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Connections news, 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 value of $416,425.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 734 shares of the company's stock, valued at $122,262.38. The trade was a 77.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Robert Cloninger sold 2,811 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were 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 represents a 19.42% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders own 0.27% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated an "outperform" rating and set a $199.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, July 24th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Waste Connections in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. They issued an "outperform" rating and a $204.00 target price on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a "hold (c)" rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, August 7th. UBS Group upgraded shares of Waste Connections from a "neutral" rating to a "buy" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $176.00 to $200.00 in a research note on Friday. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $202.42.

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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