Procyon Advisors LLC Takes Position in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Procyon Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 10,882 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,908,000.

Several other hedge funds have also recently bought and sold shares of WCN. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Connections during the 1st quarter worth about $577,000. DNB Asset Management AS increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 31.1% in the 2nd quarter. DNB Asset Management AS now owns 67,169 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $12,542,000 after purchasing an additional 15,919 shares during the period. Neo Ivy Capital Management purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the second quarter worth approximately $206,000. MAI Capital Management lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 15.0% in the second quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,283 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $240,000 after purchasing an additional 167 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Franklin Resources Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 16.4% during the second quarter. Franklin Resources Inc. now owns 1,340,020 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $250,239,000 after purchasing an additional 189,076 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Connections Trading Down 1.3%

NYSE:WCN opened at $162.76 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $41.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.62. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $167.13 and its 200 day moving average price is $171.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52 week low of $155.65 and a 52 week high of $201.66.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.35 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.37 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 11.37% and a return on equity of 16.25%. The company’s revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.16 earnings per share. On average, research analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.57%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages recently commented on WCN. TD Cowen lowered their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Oppenheimer reiterated 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. Sanford C. Bernstein restated an “outperform” rating and set a $205.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Monday, January 5th. UBS Group set a $205.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Waste Connections from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $203.52.

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.