2Xideas AG Boosts Stake in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

2Xideas AG increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 19.0% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 38,974 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 6,234 shares during the quarter. Waste Connections comprises 1.2% of 2Xideas AG’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 27th biggest position. 2Xideas AG’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $7,277,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays reiterated a “negative” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company initiated coverage on Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday, November 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $186.00 target price on the stock. UBS Group set a $195.00 price target on Waste Connections and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, Sanford C. Bernstein started coverage on Waste Connections in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $200.00 price objective for the company. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections currently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $208.32.

Waste Connections Price Performance

WCN stock opened at $170.46 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $172.19 and its two-hundred day moving average is $180.23. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $43.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 71.03, a P/E/G ratio of 3.25 and a beta of 0.62. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $163.27 and a 1 year 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, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.38 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $2.47 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.46 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 16.07% and a net margin of 6.65%.The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.35 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, November 5th were given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 5th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. This is a boost from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is currently 58.33%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Connections

In other news, Director Edward E. Guillet sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.44, for a total value of $1,569,960.00. Following the sale, 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 position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.28% of the company’s stock.

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.