Sit Investment Associates Inc. Boosts Position in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Sit Investment Associates Inc. raised its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 9.9% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 68,766 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,173 shares during the quarter. Sit Investment Associates Inc.’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $12,059,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 1st quarter worth approximately $577,000. Invesco Ltd. grew 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 valued at $40,946,000 after buying an additional 24,948 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP grew its position in Waste Connections by 2.9% during 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 buying an additional 688 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections during the second quarter valued at approximately $2,714,000. Finally, State Street Corp increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 1.0% during 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 buying an additional 17,197 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings lowered Waste Connections from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $211.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Wolfe Research began coverage on Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, March 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $199.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $218.00 price target (up from $210.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, April 24th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.84.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Connections news, VP Patrick James Shea sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.26, for a total transaction of $1,171,950.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 19,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,084,103.62. This trade represents a 27.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, COO Jason Craft sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the chief operating officer owned 32,861 shares in the company, valued at $5,145,703.99. The trade was a 4.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold a total of 17,605 shares of company stock worth $2,822,923 in the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:WCN opened at $154.03 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $146.89 and a 1-year high of $191.91. The company has a market capitalization of $39.08 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.57, a P/E/G ratio of 2.75 and a beta of 0.51. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $156.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $164.49.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.97% and a return on equity of 16.49%. The company’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.13 earnings per share. Research analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.5 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

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

Waste Connections 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.