Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Announces Quarterly Dividend of $0.35

Key Points

• Waste Connections declared a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, payable on August 20 to shareholders of record on August 6. The dividend implies an annualized yield of about 0.8%.
• The company’s dividend appears well covered, with a 23.6% payout ratio, and analysts expect it to continue supporting the payout with projected earnings of $6.20 per share next year.
• Waste Connections recently beat quarterly expectations, reporting $1.50 EPS versus $1.35 expected and revenue of $2.56 billion, up 6.4% year over year.

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) declared a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, July 22nd. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 6th will be given a dividend of 0.35 per share by the business services provider on Thursday, August 20th. This represents a c) annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 6th.

Waste Connections has raised its dividend payment by an average of 0.1%per year over the last three years and has raised its dividend annually for the last 8 consecutive years. Waste Connections has a dividend payout ratio of 23.6% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Analysts expect Waste Connections to earn $6.20 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $1.40 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 22.6%.

Waste Connections Stock Down 0.3%

NYSE:WCN opened at $167.91 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.95, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.49. The business's fifty day moving average price is $160.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $163.28. Waste Connections has a 1-year low of $146.89 and a 1-year high of $191.91.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.51 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.97% and a return on equity of 16.49%. Waste Connections's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.29 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Connections will post 5.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Ronald J. Mittelstaedt acquired 50,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $152.24 per share, for a total transaction of $7,612,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 301,017 shares in the company, valued at $45,826,828.08. This represents a 19.92% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Eric Hansen sold 6,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The stock was sold at an average price of $164.82, for a total transaction of $988,920.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president directly owned 13,350 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $2,200,347. This trade represents a 31.01% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 17,605 shares of company stock worth $2,822,923. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Connections

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Family Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter valued at $204,000. Revolve Wealth Partners LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the second quarter worth $433,000. Sapient Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the second quarter worth $390,000. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC raised its position in shares of Waste Connections by 68.1% in the second quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 15,966 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,661,000 after buying an additional 6,470 shares in the last quarter. Finally, LifeGoal Investments LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the second quarter worth $274,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% 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.

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