Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN Position Lessened by ClearAlpha Technologies LP

ClearAlpha Technologies LP decreased its position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 48.6% during the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 4,686 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 4,424 shares during the period. Waste Connections accounts for approximately 2.3% of ClearAlpha Technologies LP’s portfolio, making the stock its 10th largest holding. ClearAlpha Technologies LP’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $822,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the company. Aureus Asset Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 17.0% during the fourth quarter. Aureus Asset Management LLC now owns 271,386 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $47,590,000 after buying an additional 39,482 shares during the period. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 130.4% during the fourth quarter. Balyasny Asset Management L.P. now owns 469,105 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $82,262,000 after buying an additional 265,517 shares during the period. BNB Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $208,000. Boothbay Fund Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $1,469,000. Finally, Visualize Group LP lifted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 0.3% during the fourth quarter. Visualize Group LP now owns 228,759 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,115,000 after buying an additional 620 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several brokerages recently issued reports on WCN. Wolfe Research began coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, March 13th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $199.00 price objective on the stock. Royal Bank Of Canada reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $218.00 price objective (up from $210.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, April 24th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and set a $208.00 price objective (up from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Barclays set a $180.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 28th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Waste Connections from a “hold (c+)” rating to a “hold (c)” rating in a research note on Wednesday, May 13th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $202.84.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Jason Craft sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on 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 sale, the chief operating officer owned 32,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,145,703.99. This represents a 4.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, CEO Ronald J. Mittelstaedt acquired 50,000 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 12th. The stock was acquired at an average cost of $152.24 per share, with a total value of $7,612,000.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 301,017 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $45,826,828.08. This represents a 19.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Over the last ninety days, insiders have sold 17,605 shares of company stock valued at $2,822,923. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

NYSE:WCN opened at $154.97 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.69, a current ratio of 0.69 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13. The company has a market cap of $39.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.80, a P/E/G ratio of 2.79 and a beta of 0.51. Waste Connections, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $146.89 and a fifty-two week high of $191.91. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $157.07 and its two-hundred day moving average is $164.65.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.97% and a return on equity of 16.49%. The company had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.50 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.13 earnings per share. Waste Connections’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. Analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.5 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th were given a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, May 6th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is presently 34.15%.

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.