Stockbridge Partners LLC Grows Stake in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Stockbridge Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 0.7% during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 2,137,774 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 14,465 shares during the quarter. Waste Connections makes up approximately 7.8% of Stockbridge Partners LLC’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 7th biggest holding. Stockbridge Partners LLC owned about 0.83% of Waste Connections worth $399,165,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other large investors also recently bought and sold shares of WCN. Lido Advisors LLC boosted its position in Waste Connections by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 2,949 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $551,000 after acquiring an additional 61 shares in the last quarter. MAI Capital Management lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,116 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $218,000 after purchasing an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 3.7% during the 1st quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC now owns 1,897 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $370,000 after purchasing an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. LWM Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in Waste Connections by 2.5% during the first quarter. LWM Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,034 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $591,000 after purchasing an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC grew its stake in Waste Connections by 1.4% in the second quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 5,719 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,068,000 after purchasing an additional 77 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Trading Down 0.1%

NYSE:WCN opened at $173.00 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $44.24 billion, a P/E ratio of 72.08, a PEG ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.62. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12 month low of $163.27 and a 12 month high of $201.66. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $172.26 and a 200-day simple moving average of $180.40.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.06. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 6.65%.The firm had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.35 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 5th were paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 5th. This is a positive change from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 58.33%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have recently weighed in on WCN. Barclays restated a “negative” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. UBS Group set a $195.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. National Bankshares cut their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $211.00 to $196.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Citigroup decreased their price objective on Waste Connections from $199.00 to $196.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus lowered their price objective on Waste Connections from $221.00 to $218.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $208.32.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Connections

In related news, Director Edward E. Guillet sold 9,000 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.44, for a total transaction of $1,569,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 14,883 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,596,190.52. This trade represents a 37.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.28% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Waste Connections Profile

Waste Connections, Inc provides non-hazardous waste collection, transfer, disposal, and resource recovery services in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services to residential, commercial, municipal, industrial, and exploration and production (E&P) customers; landfill disposal services; and recycling services for various recyclable materials, including compost, cardboard, mixed paper, plastic containers, glass bottles, and ferrous and aluminum metals.