Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN Stock Position Lowered by Gradient Investments LLC

Gradient Investments LLC trimmed its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 11.6% during the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 117,226 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 15,338 shares during the period. Gradient Investments LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $18,045,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 1.5% during the first quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 4,312 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $701,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 5,030 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $838,000 after buying an additional 99 shares in the last quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its position in Waste Connections by 9.2% during the 1st quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 1,519 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $247,000 after buying an additional 128 shares during the period. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 11.2% during the first quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 1,329 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $216,000 after buying an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 0.4% in the third quarter. MassMutual Private Wealth & Trust FSB now owns 31,172 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,798,000 after acquiring an additional 136 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WCN has been the subject of several analyst reports. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce set a $184.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 13th. Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Wolfe Research assumed coverage on Waste Connections in a research note on Tuesday, September 15th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $204.00 price target for the company. Finally, Citigroup increased their price target on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. One analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Waste Connections currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.29.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Robert Cloninger sold 2,811 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.02, for a total transaction 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. This trade represents a 19.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.57, for a total value of $416,425.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 734 shares in the company, valued at $122,262.38. This trade represents a 77.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Waste Connections stock traded up $0.21 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $155.38. 708,808 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,532,861. The company has a market cap of $39.09 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.41, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.49. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. Waste Connections, Inc. has a twelve month low of $146.89 and a twelve month high of $179.74. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $162.06 and a two-hundred day moving average of $161.40.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.29 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter 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 firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 6th were paid 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 0.9%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is presently 33.73%.

About Waste Connections

Waste Connections, Inc is a North American provider of solid waste collection, transfer, disposal, recycling and resource recovery services. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial and construction customers through local operations and provides services under municipal and other contracted arrangements.

Its business includes curbside and commercial waste collection, transfer stations, solid waste landfills, recycling facilities and organics processing. Waste Connections also provides environmental services for energy-producing customers, including the management and disposal of non-hazardous oilfield waste, and operates resource recovery and renewable energy projects in connection with certain waste facilities.

Founded in 1997, Waste Connections serves communities across the United States and Canada.