Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN Shares Sold by Bluegrass Capital Partners LP

Bluegrass Capital Partners LP lessened its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 64.3% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 5,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 9,000 shares during the period. Waste Connections comprises approximately 0.5% of Bluegrass Capital Partners LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 11th largest position. Bluegrass Capital Partners LP’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $877,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in WCN. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 39.6% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,455,162 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $783,218,000 after buying an additional 1,264,150 shares during the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 17.6% during the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 6,136,218 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,078,536,000 after buying an additional 918,245 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 2.3% during the third quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 31,585,284 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,552,682,000 after buying an additional 717,440 shares during the period. CIBC Asset Management Inc lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 55.7% during the third quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,991,112 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $350,603,000 after buying an additional 711,990 shares during the period. Finally, Two Sigma Investments LP increased its stake in Waste Connections by 31.3% during the 3rd quarter. Two Sigma Investments LP now owns 1,263,918 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $222,197,000 after buying an additional 301,389 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on WCN shares. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Waste Connections from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, March 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $199.00 price target on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, April 24th. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 target price (down from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank set a $197.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research 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. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $203.35.

Insider Activity at Waste Connections

In related news, VP James Little sold 2,605 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.98, for a total transaction of $427,167.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president directly owned 34,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,640,092.10. This trade represents a 7.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ronald J. Mittelstaedt acquired 50,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were purchased at an average price of $152.24 per share, with a total value of $7,612,000.00. Following the acquisition, the chief executive officer owned 301,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,826,828.08. This trade represents a 19.92% increase in their position. The SEC filing for this purchase provides additional information. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Waste Connections Trading Down 0.0%

Waste Connections stock opened at $155.77 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $160.36 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $166.78. The firm has a market capitalization of $39.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.99, a PEG ratio of 2.77 and a beta of 0.55. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $148.84 and a 52-week high of $198.00.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.13 EPS. Waste Connections’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 6th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 34.15%.

Waste Connections 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.