Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) VP James Little Sells 2,605 Shares

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) VP James Little sold 2,605 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, April 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $163.98, for a total transaction of $427,167.90. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 34,395 shares in the company, valued at approximately $5,640,092.10. This trade represents a 7.04% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

WCN traded up $0.09 on Wednesday, reaching $163.63. The company had a trading volume of 1,403,810 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,632,732. Waste Connections, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $154.90 and a fifty-two week high of $199.00. The stock has a market cap of $41.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 39.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.87 and a beta of 0.61. The company’s fifty day moving average is $164.22 and its 200 day moving average is $168.64. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a quick ratio of 0.69 and a current ratio of 0.69.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.33 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 previous year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.49 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is currently 34.15%.

Institutional Trading of Waste Connections

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. City Holding Co. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 4th quarter worth approximately $26,000. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $26,000. KERR FINANCIAL PLANNING Corp bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $30,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 346.2% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Finally, Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 555.2% during the 3rd quarter. Greykasell Wealth Strategies Inc. now owns 190 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $33,000 after acquiring an additional 161 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of research firms have issued reports on WCN. Scotiabank set a $197.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. BNP Paribas Exane began coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $211.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Sanford C. Bernstein reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective (down from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $203.35.

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.