Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN Position Increased by Douglas Lane & Associates LLC

Douglas Lane & Associates LLC raised its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 2.7% in the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 335,586 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 8,754 shares during the quarter. Douglas Lane & Associates LLC owned approximately 0.13% of Waste Connections worth $51,657,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Group One Trading LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the second quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in Waste Connections by 1,166.7% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after buying an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Western Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections in the 1st quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Johnson Financial Group Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Connections in the second quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Wellington Altus USA Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Connections by 205.6% in the second quarter. Wellington Altus USA Inc. now owns 275 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $48,000 after purchasing an additional 185 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WCN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce set a $184.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections and gave the company an “outperformer” rating in a report on Thursday. Barclays increased their price objective on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $204.00 target price for the company. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, UBS Group upgraded Waste Connections from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $176.00 to $200.00 in a research report on Friday, September 18th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Connections has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $199.78.

Waste Connections Price Performance

WCN stock traded down $2.08 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $152.61. 556,168 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,532,922. Waste Connections, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $146.89 and a fifty-two week high of $179.74. The stock has a market cap of $38.39 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.76, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.49. The stock’s 50-day moving average price is $161.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $161.35. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.66.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.15. The business 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.29 EPS. Research analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.63 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. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 6th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is 33.73%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Connections

In related news, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.57, for a total transaction of $416,425.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $122,262.38. This trade represents a 77.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Robert Cloninger sold 2,811 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.02, for a total value 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 $1,995,119.32. This trade represents a 19.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

About Waste Connections

Waste Connections, Inc is a North American provider of solid waste collection, transfer, disposal, recycling and resource recovery services. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial and construction customers through local operations and provides services under municipal and other contracted arrangements.

Its business includes curbside and commercial waste collection, transfer stations, solid waste landfills, recycling facilities and organics processing. Waste Connections also provides environmental services for energy-producing customers, including the management and disposal of non-hazardous oilfield waste, and operates resource recovery and renewable energy projects in connection with certain waste facilities.

Founded in 1997, Waste Connections serves communities across the United States and Canada.