Sanctuary Advisors LLC Makes New $1.34 Million Investment in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Sanctuary Advisors LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor purchased 8,049 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,341,000.

Other large investors also recently modified their holdings of the company. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at about $26,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 346.2% in the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 1,166.7% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. acquired a new stake in Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth approximately $37,000. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WCN has been the subject of several recent research reports. Barclays upped 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. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 13th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $199.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Two research 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.89.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of WCN stock opened at $165.88 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.73 billion, a PE ratio of 39.97, a PEG ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.48. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $167.49 and its 200 day simple moving average is $163.09. 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, Inc. has a one year low of $146.89 and a one year high of $185.33.

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

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

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

Insider Activity

In other Waste Connections news, COO Jason Craft sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.59, for a total transaction of $234,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 32,861 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,145,703.99. This trade represents a 4.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Patrick James Shea sold 7,500 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction dated 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 transaction, the vice president directly owned 19,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $3,084,103.62. This trade represents a 27.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 14,311 shares of company stock worth $2,303,997 over the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.