Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN Position Lessened by Vestcor Inc

Vestcor Inc trimmed its position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 33.4% in the 4th quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The fund owned 40,382 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 20,227 shares during the quarter. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $7,081,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WCN. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the third quarter worth $26,000. City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth $26,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the third quarter worth $30,000. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth $36,000. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth $37,000. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays set a $180.00 price objective on Waste Connections and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 28th. Morgan Stanley set a $205.00 price objective on Waste Connections and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. TD Cowen cut their price objective on Waste Connections from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Friday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $208.00 price objective (up from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Waste Connections from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Four equities 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. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $203.35.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Connections

In other news, VP James Little sold 2,605 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $163.98, for a total value of $427,167.90. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 34,395 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,640,092.10. This trade represents a 7.04% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ronald J. Mittelstaedt purchased 50,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $152.24 per share, for a total transaction of $7,612,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 301,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $45,826,828.08. The trade was a 19.92% increase in their position. Additional details regarding this purchase are available in the official SEC disclosure. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Price Performance

NYSE WCN opened at $155.29 on Friday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $146.89 and a fifty-two week high of $193.08. The stock’s 50-day moving average is $158.05 and its two-hundred day moving average is $165.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market cap of $39.40 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.73 and a beta of 0.51.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 16.49% and a net margin of 10.97%.The company had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.13 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 6th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.15%.

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.