Blueshift Asset Management LLC Buys Shares of 3,977 Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Blueshift Asset Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) during the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor purchased 3,977 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $743,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. AlphaCore Capital LLC acquired a new position in Waste Connections during the second quarter worth $39,000. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 2nd quarter worth about $51,000. Marshall & Sullivan Inc. WA acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the 2nd quarter valued at about $70,000. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 83.3% in the 2nd quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 396 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after acquiring an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. Finally, SVB Wealth LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Connections in the 1st quarter worth approximately $87,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts have commented on the company. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Waste Connections from $205.00 to $206.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Monday, November 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $202.00 target price on the stock. National Bankshares decreased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $211.00 to $196.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Waste Connections in a research report on Wednesday, November 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $200.00 price target on the stock. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have given a Buy rating, three have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $208.32.

Insider Activity at Waste Connections

In related news, Director Edward E. Guillet sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.44, for a total value of $1,569,960.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 14,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,596,190.52. This trade represents a 37.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of Waste Connections stock opened at $173.23 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The company has a market cap of $44.32 billion, a PE ratio of 72.18, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.60. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $172.17 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $180.86. Waste Connections, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $163.27 and a fifty-two week high of $201.66.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $1.44 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.06. Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.65% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business earned $1.35 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS 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 given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This is a boost from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, November 5th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 58.33%.

About Waste Connections

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.