Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN Stock Position Increased by Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs boosted its Waste Connections stake by 58.1% in the fourth quarter, buying more than 1.06 million shares and ending with about 2.9 million shares valued at roughly $508.6 million.
• Waste Connections reported Q1 earnings of $1.23 per share, topping estimates, while revenue came in at $2.33 billion, below analyst expectations but still up 6.4% year over year.
• The company paid a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share and has a consensus Wall Street rating of Buy, with analysts’ average price target around $203.35.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 58.1% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,900,321 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 1,065,653 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned about 1.13% of Waste Connections worth $508,600,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WCN. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its holdings in Waste Connections by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 3,042 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $533,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 2.6% in the 3rd quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 2,556 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $449,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 7.7% in the 4th quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 919 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $161,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. RDA Financial Network lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 2.8% during the fourth quarter. RDA Financial Network now owns 2,459 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $431,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Integrated Advisors Network LLC lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 4.3% during the third quarter. Integrated Advisors Network LLC now owns 1,685 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $296,000 after purchasing an additional 70 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Connections Stock Up 2.1%

Shares of NYSE:WCN opened at $154.06 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. The company has a market cap of $39.09 billion, a PE ratio of 37.58, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.51. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52 week low of $146.89 and a 52 week high of $193.08. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $158.08 and a 200 day simple moving average of $165.81.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.97% and a return on equity of 16.49%. The firm had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.13 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Waste Connections's payout ratio is currently 34.15%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have issued reports on WCN. Stifel Nicolaus set a $213.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank set a $197.00 price objective on Waste Connections and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $205.00 price objective on Waste Connections and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $212.00 target price on Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Finally, TD Cowen reduced their target price on Waste Connections from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. Four equities research 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. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $203.35.

Insider Activity at Waste Connections

In other Waste Connections news, SVP Eric Hansen sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.82, for a total transaction of $988,920.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,200,347. This trade represents a 31.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ronald J. Mittelstaedt bought 50,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was acquired at an average price of $152.24 per share, for a total transaction of $7,612,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 301,017 shares in the company, valued at $45,826,828.08. This trade represents a 19.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

About Waste Connections

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.

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