Hsbc Holdings PLC Increases Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Hsbc Holdings PLC grew its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 9.9% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 132,289 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 11,911 shares during the quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $21,449,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of the stock. City Holding Co. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 4th quarter worth about $26,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter worth about $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC grew its position in Waste Connections by 1,166.7% during the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC grew its position in Waste Connections by 346.2% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new stake in Waste Connections during the 4th quarter valued at about $36,000. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WCN has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $208.00 target price (up from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, April 24th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and set a $211.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Barclays set a $180.00 price objective on Waste Connections and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 28th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.00.

Waste Connections Price Performance

NYSE WCN opened at $168.04 on Wednesday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a one year low of $146.89 and a one year high of $191.91. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $160.53 and a 200 day moving average of $163.34. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69. The company has a market capitalization of $42.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.99, a PEG ratio of 3.00 and a beta of 0.49.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.19 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.97% and a return on equity of 16.49%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.13 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.49 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Patrick James Shea sold 7,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.26, for a total transaction 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 $3,084,103.62. The trade was a 27.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, SVP Eric Hansen sold 6,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.82, for a total transaction of $988,920.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 13,350 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,200,347. This trade represents a 31.01% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 17,605 shares of company stock valued at $2,822,923 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.