Centaurus Financial Inc. Makes New Investment in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Centaurus Financial Inc. acquired a new stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm acquired 33,123 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,521,000.

A number of other institutional investors also recently modified their holdings of WCN. XXEC Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the second quarter worth approximately $164,870,000. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the second quarter valued at approximately $1,061,947,000. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $697,519,000. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the second quarter valued at approximately $589,671,000. Finally, Bank of America Corp DE bought a new position in Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $510,526,000. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research analysts have issued reports on the company. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $176.00 price objective (up from $170.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated an “outperform” rating and set a $199.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, July 24th. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.89.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.57, for a total value of $416,425.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president owned 734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $122,262.38. This represents a 77.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, COO Jason Craft sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.59, for a total value of $234,885.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 32,861 shares in the company, valued at $5,145,703.99. The trade was a 4.37% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last quarter, insiders sold 14,311 shares of company stock worth $2,303,997. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Down 0.8%

Shares of NYSE:WCN opened at $165.88 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.66. The stock has a market cap of $41.73 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.97, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.48. The company has a 50 day moving average of $167.49 and a 200-day moving average of $163.09. Waste Connections, Inc. has a one year low of $146.89 and a one year high of $185.33.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.15. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The business had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.29 earnings per share. Waste Connections’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 6th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is presently 33.73%.

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.