Cornerstone Advisors LLC Takes $12.78 Million Position in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Cornerstone Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) in the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel.com reports. The firm acquired 76,663 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $12,779,000.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of WCN. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the third quarter worth about $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 1,166.7% in the 1st quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares in the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC raised its stake in Waste Connections by 346.2% during the 4th quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $36,000. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the fourth quarter worth approximately $37,000. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Price Performance

WCN opened at $165.13 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12-month low of $146.89 and a 12-month high of $188.75. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $165.64 and its 200-day simple moving average is $163.12. The company has a market capitalization of $41.54 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.79, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.48.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.50 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates 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 the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.29 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 6th will be issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.73%.

Insider Transactions at Waste Connections

In other news, SVP Robert Michael Cloninger sold 2,811 shares of the business’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 completion of 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 position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, VP Patrick James Shea sold 7,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.26, for a total value of $1,171,950.00. Following the sale, the vice president directly owned 19,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,084,103.62. The trade was a 27.54% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last three months, insiders sold 11,811 shares of company stock valued at $1,887,572. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WCN. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reiterated an “outperform” rating and issued a $199.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reiterated 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. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, July 24th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut 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 report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $211.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target 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.