Renaissance Technologies LLC Trims Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Renaissance Technologies LLC decreased its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 60.0% in the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 79,261 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 118,990 shares during the quarter. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $13,899,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 6.4% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 386,448 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $67,770,000 after purchasing an additional 23,194 shares in the last quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd lifted its holdings in Waste Connections by 8.4% in the second quarter. WINTON GROUP Ltd now owns 30,324 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,318,000 after buying an additional 2,349 shares during the period. Inspire Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waste Connections during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $680,000. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Envestnet Asset Management Inc. now owns 541,572 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $94,978,000 after acquiring an additional 7,378 shares during the period. Finally, Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Waste Connections by 48.7% in the 2nd quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 44,872 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,869,000 after acquiring an additional 14,690 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Connections

In related news, SVP Susan Netherton sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.13, for a total value of $358,260.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 10,078 shares in the company, valued at $1,805,272.14. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Waste Connections news, SVP Susan Netherton sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $179.13, for a total transaction of $358,260.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 10,078 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,805,272.14. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total value of $2,902,215.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 48,899 shares in the company, valued at $8,706,466.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,600 shares of company stock valued at $3,842,550 in the last 90 days. Insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Price Performance

NYSE:WCN opened at $179.15 on Monday. The business’s 50-day simple moving average is $181.85 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $173.46. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52 week low of $126.12 and a 52 week high of $187.54. The stock has a market cap of $46.22 billion, a PE ratio of 58.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.16% and a net margin of 10.23%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.02 EPS. As a group, analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th were issued a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 7th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.64%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.01%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently weighed in on WCN. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Waste Connections from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets boosted their price target on Waste Connections from $196.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. CIBC increased their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an “outperformer” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price target on Waste Connections from $195.00 to $199.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Monday, July 22nd. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.28.

Waste Connections Company 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.