Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI Invests $1.01 Million in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Citizens Financial Group Inc. RI 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 Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 6,054 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,009,000.

Several other large investors have also bought and sold shares of WCN. Integrated Wealth Concepts LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Connections during the first quarter valued at approximately $577,000. Invesco Ltd. lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 12.8% during the 2nd quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 219,290 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $40,946,000 after acquiring an additional 24,948 shares during the last quarter. First Trust Advisors LP boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 2.9% in the 2nd quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 24,463 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,572,000 after purchasing an additional 688 shares during the period. Jump Financial LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the second quarter worth about $2,714,000. Finally, State Street Corp boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 1.0% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 1,808,631 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $337,708,000 after purchasing an additional 17,197 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, VP Patrick James Shea sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.26, for a total transaction of $1,171,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 19,737 shares in the company, valued at $3,084,103.62. This trade represents a 27.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Robert Michael Cloninger sold 2,811 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.02, for a total value of $480,737.22. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 11,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,995,119.32. The trade was a 19.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold a total of 11,811 shares of company stock valued at $1,887,572 over the last three months. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of WCN opened at $165.66 on Wednesday. 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 firm has a market cap of $41.68 billion, a PE ratio of 39.92, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.48. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $165.80 and its 200 day moving average price is $163.10. Waste Connections, Inc. has a twelve month low of $146.89 and a twelve month high of $188.75.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.15. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 10.86%.The company had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.29 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. 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 business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 6th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.73%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WCN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $211.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Barclays lifted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated an “outperform” rating and set a $199.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price objective on Waste Connections from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, 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 report on Friday, April 24th. Two 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 stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus 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.