Empowered Funds LLC Takes $2.46 Million Position in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) in the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor acquired 14,759 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,460,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter valued at $26,000. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Group One Trading LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter valued at about $30,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC raised 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 valued at $31,000 after buying an additional 175 shares during the period. Finally, Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. acquired a new position in Waste Connections in the fourth quarter valued at about $36,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research analysts have weighed in on WCN shares. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and set a $199.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, August 7th. Citigroup increased their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Tuesday, July 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.89.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Connections

In other Waste Connections news, COO Jason Craft sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s 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 transaction, the chief operating officer owned 32,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,145,703.99. This trade represents a 4.37% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,500 shares of the business’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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 734 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $122,262.38. This trade represents a 77.30% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold 14,311 shares of company stock valued at $2,303,997 in the last 90 days. Corporate insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Connections stock opened at $164.06 on Thursday. The stock has a market capitalization of $41.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 39.53, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.81 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 business has a 50-day moving average of $168.01 and a 200 day moving average of $163.00. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12 month low of $146.89 and a 12 month high of $182.92.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly 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. The company had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.29 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th were issued a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is 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.