Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc. Makes New Investment in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc. acquired a new stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm acquired 3,553 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $592,000. Waste Connections accounts for 0.0% of Bristol Gate Capital Partners Inc.’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest holding.

A number of other large investors have also recently made changes to their positions in WCN. XXEC Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Connections during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $164,870,000. Royal Bank of Canada lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 12,210,661 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,983,500,000 after purchasing an additional 106,763 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 28.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,468,259 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,134,781,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420,921 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the second quarter worth $1,061,947,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 37.1% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,763,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $835,370,000 after purchasing an additional 1,289,042 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Waste Connections

In other Waste Connections news, VP Patrick James Shea sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.26, for a total value of $1,171,950.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president owned 19,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,084,103.62. The trade was a 27.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jason Craft sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 32,861 shares of the company’s stock, 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. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,311 shares of company stock worth $2,303,997. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

NYSE WCN opened at $166.36 on Wednesday. The company has a fifty day moving average of $167.00 and a two-hundred day moving average of $163.13. The company has a market capitalization of $41.85 billion, a PE ratio of 40.09, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.48. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $146.89 and a 1 year high of $185.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

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

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

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

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WCN has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. Barclays raised their price target on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $199.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup boosted their target price on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, August 7th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $176.00 price target (up from $170.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.89.

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.