Hexagon Capital Partners LLC Purchases 86 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 116.2% during the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 160 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $28,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of WCN. Norges Bank bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $592,392,000. Royal Bank of Canada grew its position in Waste Connections by 20.5% in the third quarter. Royal Bank of Canada now owns 11,294,922 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,516,908,000 after acquiring an additional 1,920,302 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its position in Waste Connections by 43.4% in the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 4,364,071 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $651,427,000 after acquiring an additional 1,320,933 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in Waste Connections by 57.7% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 3,500,718 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $522,988,000 after acquiring an additional 1,281,418 shares during the period. Finally, Clearbridge Investments LLC grew its position in Waste Connections by 235.5% in the fourth quarter. Clearbridge Investments LLC now owns 1,153,882 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $172,240,000 after acquiring an additional 809,914 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Connections

In other Waste Connections news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $169.00, for a total value of $169,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 5,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $899,249. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other Waste Connections news, Director Michael W. Harlan sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.59, for a total value of $251,385.00. Following the transaction, the director now owns 8,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,341,390.36. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $169.00, for a total value of $169,000.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 5,321 shares in the company, valued at approximately $899,249. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last quarter, insiders have sold 4,500 shares of company stock valued at $752,385. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer upped their price target on Waste Connections from $170.00 to $180.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, March 18th. Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price target on Waste Connections from $196.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft assumed coverage on Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday, May 23rd. They issued a “buy” rating and a $189.00 price target on the stock. BMO Capital Markets upped their price target on Waste Connections from $182.00 to $186.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, April 26th. Finally, StockNews.com raised Waste Connections from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research note on Saturday, May 18th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $179.94.

Waste Connections Trading Up 0.7 %

Shares of WCN opened at $175.09 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12-month low of $126.12 and a 12-month high of $177.25. The firm has a market capitalization of $45.18 billion, a PE ratio of 56.85, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.80 and a beta of 0.72. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $167.35 and its 200-day simple moving average is $162.72.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.02. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 14.66% and a net margin of 9.70%. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.05 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.89 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.85 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 8th were paid a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 7th. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is 37.01%.

Waste Connections Profile

Waste Connections, Inc provides non-hazardous waste collection, transfer, disposal, and resource recovery services in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services to residential, commercial, municipal, industrial, and exploration and production (E&P) customers; landfill disposal services; and recycling services for various recyclable materials, including compost, cardboard, mixed paper, plastic containers, glass bottles, and ferrous and aluminum metals.