Anthracite Investment Company Inc. Buys New Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Anthracite Investment Company Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm bought 15,900 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,373,000. Waste Connections makes up approximately 1.3% of Anthracite Investment Company Inc.’s portfolio, making the stock its 22nd biggest holding.

Several other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System increased its stake in Waste Connections by 0.8% in the fourth quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 8,844 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,321,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. Savant Capital LLC increased its stake in Waste Connections by 4.9% in the third quarter. Savant Capital LLC now owns 1,673 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $225,000 after purchasing an additional 78 shares during the last quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. increased its stake in Waste Connections by 1.4% in the third quarter. Argonautica Private Wealth Management Inc. now owns 5,537 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $744,000 after purchasing an additional 79 shares during the last quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 4.7% during the fourth quarter. Traynor Capital Management Inc. now owns 1,895 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $283,000 after acquiring an additional 85 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Legacy Capital Group California Inc. grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 3.1% during the fourth quarter. Legacy Capital Group California Inc. now owns 3,082 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $460,000 after acquiring an additional 93 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WCN traded up $0.92 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $167.59. 649,007 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 999,237. The stock has a market cap of $43.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 54.41, a PEG ratio of 2.70 and a beta of 0.67. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $167.47 and a 200-day moving average price of $155.38. Waste Connections, Inc. has a twelve month low of $126.12 and a twelve month high of $173.02. The company has a current ratio of 0.75, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.04 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.02 by $0.02. The firm had revenue of $2.07 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.05 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 9.70%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.89 EPS. On average, research analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th will be issued a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, May 7th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Connections

In related news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.00, for a total transaction of $332,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 6,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,049,286. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In other Waste Connections news, Director Michael W. Harlan sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, May 10th. The shares were sold at an average price of $167.59, for a total value of $251,385.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 8,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,341,390.36. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 2,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.00, for a total transaction of $332,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,049,286. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 4,402 shares of company stock worth $735,976 in the last 90 days. 0.31% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WCN has been the topic of a number of research reports. Atb Cap Markets lowered shares of Waste Connections from an “outperform” rating to a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $175.00 to $180.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. CIBC lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, StockNews.com upgraded shares of Waste Connections from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Saturday. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $179.33.

Waste Connections Profile

Waste Connections, Inc provides non-hazardous waste collection, transfer, disposal, and resource recovery services in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services to residential, commercial, municipal, industrial, and exploration and production (E&P) customers; landfill disposal services; and recycling services for various recyclable materials, including compost, cardboard, mixed paper, plastic containers, glass bottles, and ferrous and aluminum metals.