PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators Takes $11.90 Million Position in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund acquired 67,860 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $11,900,000.

Several other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in Waste Connections during the third quarter worth $26,000. City Holding Co. bought a new stake in Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new stake in Waste Connections during the third quarter worth $30,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new stake in Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Eric Hansen sold 6,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction 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 transaction, the senior vice president owned 13,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,200,347. This represents a 31.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, CEO Ronald J. Mittelstaedt purchased 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $152.24 per share, for a total transaction of $7,612,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 301,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,826,828.08. The trade was a 19.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Up 0.9%

WCN stock opened at $155.29 on Friday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $158.05 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $165.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $146.89 and a 1-year high of $193.08. The stock has a market cap of $39.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.87, a P/E/G ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.51.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) 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 return on equity of 16.49% and a net margin of 10.97%.The business had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.5 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WCN. Scotiabank set a $197.00 price target on Waste Connections and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $212.00 price target on Waste Connections in a report on Friday, February 13th. Morgan Stanley set a $205.00 price target on Waste Connections and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Waste Connections in a report on Friday, March 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $199.00 price target for the company. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $211.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $203.35.

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.