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

Hsbc Holdings PLC decreased its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 44.9% during the 4th quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The fund owned 120,378 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 98,127 shares during the period. Hsbc Holdings PLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $21,145,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. City Holding Co. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at approximately $26,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp purchased a new position in Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at approximately $30,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 346.2% in the fourth 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 position in Waste Connections during the fourth quarter valued at $36,000. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WCN has been the topic of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada restated an “outperform” rating and issued a $218.00 target price (up from $210.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, April 24th. The Goldman Sachs Group reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $211.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Wolfe Research started coverage on Waste Connections in a report on Friday, March 13th. They issued an “outperform” rating and a $199.00 price objective for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Waste Connections from $195.00 to $210.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Waste Connections from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a report on Wednesday, May 13th. Three analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $202.84.

Waste Connections Trading Up 3.2%

Shares of WCN stock opened at $173.00 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.89 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 42.20, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.49. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $157.79 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $163.77. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $146.89 and a 1 year high of $191.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.50 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 16.49% and a net margin of 10.97%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.13 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.49 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 6th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 6th. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is presently 34.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, VP Patrick James Shea sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction 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 sale, the vice president owned 19,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,084,103.62. This trade represents a 27.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Eric Hansen sold 6,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.82, for a total value of $988,920.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 13,350 shares in the company, valued at $2,200,347. The trade was a 31.01% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold 17,605 shares of company stock valued at $2,822,923 in the last 90 days. 0.27% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Waste Connections 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.