Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN Shares Sold by Ascent Group LLC

Ascent Group LLC decreased its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 76.3% in the 3rd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The institutional investor owned 1,508 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,844 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $265,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WCN. Calamos Wealth Management LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections during the second quarter worth $2,055,000. Cidel Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in Waste Connections by 3.3% during the second quarter. Cidel Asset Management Inc. now owns 136,991 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $25,539,000 after purchasing an additional 4,340 shares during the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the second quarter worth $63,385,000. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 6.5% in the 2nd quarter. Nomura Asset Management Co. Ltd. now owns 78,790 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $14,712,000 after buying an additional 4,800 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Assetmark Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 84.2% in the 2nd quarter. Assetmark Inc. now owns 1,413 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $264,000 after buying an additional 646 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Connections Trading Down 0.7%

Shares of NYSE:WCN opened at $174.06 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average of $172.78 and a 200-day moving average of $177.96. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market cap of $44.51 billion, a P/E ratio of 72.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.63. Waste Connections, Inc. has a twelve month low of $163.27 and a twelve month high of $201.66.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 6.65%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.35 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 5th were paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This is an increase from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 5th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.33%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Connections

In other Waste Connections news, Director Edward E. Guillet sold 9,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.44, for a total value of $1,569,960.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 14,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,596,190.52. The trade was a 37.68% 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. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on WCN. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $199.00 to $196.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Waste Connections in a report on Monday, November 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $202.00 target price for the company. Barclays reissued a “negative” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Morgan Stanley restated an “overweight” rating and set a $220.00 price objective (up from $215.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Wednesday, December 17th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein began coverage on Waste Connections in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $200.00 target price on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.37.

About Waste Connections

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.