Dockside LLC Makes New $698,000 Investment in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Dockside LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) during the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm acquired 4,186 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $698,000.

Several other institutional investors have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the third quarter worth approximately $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 1,166.7% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 346.2% during the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC acquired a new position in Waste Connections in the 4th quarter valued at $37,000. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WCN has been the topic of a number of research reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on Waste Connections from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 13th. UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $176.00 target price (up from $170.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research 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 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $211.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.89.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, COO Jason Craft sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Robert Michael Cloninger sold 2,811 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.02, for a total transaction 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. This represents a 19.42% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold 11,811 shares of company stock valued at $1,887,572 over the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

NYSE WCN opened at $166.22 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.66. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $165.41 and its two-hundred day moving average is $163.21. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.82 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.05, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.48. Waste Connections, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $146.89 and a fifty-two week high of $188.75.

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

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th will be 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 is Thursday, August 6th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.73%.

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.