34,303 Shares in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN Acquired by Varenne Capital Partners

Varenne Capital Partners purchased a new stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) during the second quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm purchased 34,303 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $5,714,000. Waste Connections comprises 0.9% of Varenne Capital Partners’ investment portfolio, making the stock its 20th largest position.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. XXEC Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the second quarter valued at about $164,870,000. Royal Bank of Canada boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 0.9% during the 1st quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 12,210,661 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,983,500,000 after buying an additional 106,763 shares during the period. Capital International Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 28.2% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 6,468,259 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,134,781,000 after buying an additional 1,420,921 shares during the period. BlackRock Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,061,947,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. grew its stake in Waste Connections by 37.1% in the 4th quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,763,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $835,370,000 after buying an additional 1,289,042 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,500 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.57, for a total value of $416,425.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $122,262.38. This trade represents a 77.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Robert Cloninger sold 2,811 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.02, for a total value of $480,737.22. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 11,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,995,119.32. The trade was a 19.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Waste Connections stock opened at $164.85 on Monday. The firm has a market cap of $41.47 billion, a PE ratio of 39.72, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.83 and a beta of 0.48. 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’s fifty day moving average price is $167.96 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $163.08. Waste Connections, Inc. has a one year low of $146.89 and a one year high of $181.28.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.35 by $0.15. The company had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.51 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 10.86%.Waste Connections’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.29 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 6th were given a $0.35 dividend. 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%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have issued reports on WCN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, August 7th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and set a $176.00 target price (up from $170.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Tuesday, August 4th. Citigroup lifted their price target on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. 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 company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $200.89.

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.