Wealthfront Advisers LLC Acquires Shares of 38,901 Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Wealthfront Advisers LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 38,901 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $6,484,000.

Other hedge funds also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Connections during the 1st quarter valued at $577,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its holdings in Waste Connections by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 219,290 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $40,946,000 after buying an additional 24,948 shares in the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in Waste Connections by 2.9% in the 2nd 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 last quarter. Jump Financial LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter valued at about $2,714,000. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its position in Waste Connections by 1.0% in the 2nd 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. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on WCN. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $176.00 target price (up from $170.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, August 7th. Royal Bank Of Canada restated 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. Barclays lifted their price objective on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $199.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.89.

Waste Connections Price Performance

WCN opened at $169.10 on Thursday. The company has a 50-day moving average of $165.99 and a 200-day moving average of $163.11. The company has a market capitalization of $42.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.75, a PEG ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.48. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $146.89 and a 1-year high of $188.75. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.66.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.15. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The business had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.29 earnings per share. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Connections

In other Waste Connections news, VP Patrick James Shea sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 transaction, the vice president owned 19,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,084,103.62. This trade represents a 27.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Robert Michael Cloninger sold 2,811 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.02, for a total value of $480,737.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,995,119.32. The trade was a 19.42% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 11,811 shares of company stock worth $1,887,572 over the last quarter. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.