Kimelman & Baird LLC Acquires New Shares in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) in the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor purchased 179,312 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $29,890,000. Waste Connections comprises 1.6% of Kimelman & Baird LLC’s portfolio, making the stock its 28th biggest position. Kimelman & Baird LLC owned 0.07% of Waste Connections at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the business. XXEC Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the 2nd quarter valued at about $164,870,000. Royal Bank of Canada increased its stake 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 purchasing an additional 106,763 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased 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 acquiring an additional 1,420,921 shares during the last quarter. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter valued at about $1,061,947,000. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 37.1% during the fourth quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 4,763,742 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $835,370,000 after buying an additional 1,289,042 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Trading Up 0.3%

NYSE:WCN opened at $166.19 on Friday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52 week low of $146.89 and a 52 week high of $185.33. 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’s fifty day moving average is $167.73 and its 200-day moving average is $163.12. The firm has a market cap of $41.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.48.

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

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 6th were paid 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 currently 33.73%.

Insider Activity at Waste Connections

In other news, SVP Robert Michael Cloninger sold 2,811 shares of the company’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 transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 11,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,995,119.32. This represents a 19.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.57, for a total transaction of $416,425.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $122,262.38. The trade was a 77.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,311 shares of company stock valued at $2,303,997. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities research analysts have recently weighed in on WCN shares. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 13th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, August 7th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, July 24th. Finally, UBS Group reiterated a “neutral” rating and issued a $176.00 price objective (up from $170.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Tuesday, August 4th. Two investment 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. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.89.

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.