Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. Buys New Shares in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Ferguson Wellman Capital Management Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) during the second quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund bought 3,783 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $631,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 3.6% in the second quarter. Nissay Asset Management Corp Japan now owns 33,142 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,524,000 after acquiring an additional 1,154 shares during the last quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 0.8% during the 2nd quarter. Hsbc Holdings PLC now owns 133,313 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $22,232,000 after purchasing an additional 1,024 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the 2nd quarter worth about $477,944,000. Beacon Pointe Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter valued at about $238,000. Finally, Kimelman & Baird LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter valued at about $29,890,000. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Waste Connections

In related news, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, August 18th. The shares were sold at an average price of $166.57, for a total value of $416,425.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president directly owned 734 shares in the company, valued at approximately $122,262.38. This represents a 77.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, SVP Robert Michael Cloninger sold 2,811 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $171.02, for a total transaction of $480,737.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,666 shares in the company, valued at $1,995,119.32. This trade represents a 19.42% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 14,311 shares of company stock worth $2,303,997 over the last quarter. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WCN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Citigroup lifted their price target on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, August 7th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $199.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, July 24th. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Finally, Barclays boosted their target price on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 28th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.89.

Waste Connections Trading Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:WCN opened at $166.19 on Friday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12-month low of $146.89 and a 12-month high of $185.33. The business has a 50 day moving average of $167.73 and a 200-day moving average of $163.12. The company has a quick ratio of 0.66, a current ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The stock has a market cap of $41.81 billion, a PE ratio of 40.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.48.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share 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 return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 10.86%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.29 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 20th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, August 6th were given a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.73%.

About Waste Connections

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.