Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN Shares Bought by Capital International Inc. CA

Capital International Inc. CA raised its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 32.3% in the fourth quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 161,247 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 39,351 shares during the quarter. Capital International Inc. CA’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $28,276,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in WCN. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections in the 1st quarter valued at about $577,000. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in Waste Connections by 12.8% during the second quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 219,290 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,946,000 after acquiring an additional 24,948 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 2.9% in the second quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 24,463 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,572,000 after purchasing an additional 688 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the second quarter valued at $2,714,000. Finally, State Street Corp grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 1.0% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,808,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $337,708,000 after purchasing an additional 17,197 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently commented on the company. Morgan Stanley set a $205.00 price objective on Waste Connections and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Friday, February 13th. Scotiabank set a $197.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, February 13th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $218.00 price objective (up from $210.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Waste Connections from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $208.00 price objective (up from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $203.35.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of Waste Connections stock opened at $155.29 on Monday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a twelve month low of $146.89 and a twelve month high of $193.08. The stock has a market capitalization of $39.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.87, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.51. The company has a current ratio of 0.69, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $158.05 and its 200 day moving average price is $165.71.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates 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 during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.13 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

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

Insider Transactions at Waste Connections

In other Waste Connections news, CEO Ronald J. Mittelstaedt acquired 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was bought at an average price of $152.24 per share, with a total value of $7,612,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 301,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,826,828.08. The trade was a 19.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, VP James Little sold 2,605 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.98, for a total transaction of $427,167.90. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president directly owned 34,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,640,092.10. The trade was a 7.04% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.