Gabelli Funds LLC Lowers Stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Gabelli Funds LLC lowered its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 1.7% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 208,312 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 3,510 shares during the period. Gabelli Funds LLC owned 0.08% of Waste Connections worth $36,530,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds also recently bought and sold shares of the stock. First Affirmative Financial Network grew its position in Waste Connections by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. First Affirmative Financial Network now owns 1,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $317,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. grew its position in Waste Connections by 8.8% during the 2nd quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 916 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $161,000 after purchasing an additional 74 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. grew its position in Waste Connections by 1.4% during the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 5,966 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,047,000 after purchasing an additional 82 shares during the period. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC grew its position in Waste Connections by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Steward Partners Investment Advisory LLC now owns 3,182 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $475,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Waste Connections by 116.2% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 86 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Down 0.0 %

WCN stock opened at $179.15 on Friday. The company’s 50 day simple moving average is $181.85 and its 200-day simple moving average is $173.42. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.22 billion, a PE ratio of 58.17, a P/E/G ratio of 2.96 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12 month low of $126.12 and a 12 month high of $187.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.70.

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

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 7th were paid a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 7th. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is 37.01%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have weighed in on WCN. BMO Capital Markets increased 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. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Waste Connections from $175.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research report on Monday, July 29th. Raymond James raised their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $190.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Monday, July 22nd. CIBC raised their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an “outperformer” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lifted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $187.28.

Insider Activity at Waste Connections

In related news, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total transaction of $2,902,215.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 48,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,706,466.95. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. In other Waste Connections news, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total transaction of $2,902,215.00. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 48,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,706,466.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,300 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.75, for a total transaction of $401,925.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,226 shares in the company, valued at approximately $214,243.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,600 shares of company stock valued at $3,842,550. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

About Waste Connections

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.