Pallas Capital Advisors LLC Takes $2.12 Million Position in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Pallas Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm purchased 12,740 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,124,000.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Deutsche Bank AG bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter worth $235,075,000. Perigon Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the second quarter valued at $254,000. TimesSquare Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter worth about $26,339,000. Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. Ltd. purchased a new position in Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter worth about $50,891,000. Finally, OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections during the 2nd quarter valued at about $415,000. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WCN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, August 7th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $211.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $208.00 target price (up from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.89.

Insider Activity at Waste Connections

In related news, COO Jason Craft sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.59, for a total value of $234,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 32,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,145,703.99. This represents a 4.37% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Robert Michael Cloninger sold 2,811 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.02, for a total transaction of $480,737.22. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,666 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,995,119.32. The trade was a 19.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 11,811 shares of company stock worth $1,887,572. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Connections Price Performance

NYSE WCN opened at $165.13 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $41.54 billion, a PE ratio of 39.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.66. The business’s fifty day moving average is $165.64 and its 200 day moving average is $163.12. Waste Connections, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $146.89 and a fifty-two week high of $188.75.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 10.86%.Waste Connections’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.29 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is 33.73%.

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.