Pacific Sun Financial Corp Purchases Shares of 6,898 Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Pacific Sun Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) during the 2nd quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The fund purchased 6,898 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $1,150,000.

A number of other large investors also recently modified their holdings of WCN. Measured Wealth Private Client Group LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter valued at about $26,000. Whipplewood Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 1,166.7% in the first quarter. Whipplewood Advisors LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $31,000 after acquiring an additional 175 shares during the last quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 346.2% during the fourth quarter. Transamerica Financial Advisors LLC now owns 174 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $31,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Fideuram Intesa Sanpaolo Private Banking S.P.A. bought a new stake in Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth about $36,000. Finally, Entrust Financial LLC bought a new stake in Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth about $37,000. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research analysts have weighed in on WCN shares. Barclays raised their price target on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 28th. BMO Capital Markets reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $208.00 price objective (up from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, August 7th. Citigroup raised their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and set a $211.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, April 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $200.89.

Waste Connections Stock Up 0.4%

WCN stock opened at $165.66 on Wednesday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $146.89 and a 1-year high of $188.75. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $165.80 and its 200 day simple moving average is $163.10. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17. The firm has a market capitalization of $41.68 billion, a PE ratio of 39.92, a PEG ratio of 2.86 and a beta of 0.48.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.15. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 10.86%.The business had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.29 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.62 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, August 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, August 6th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.73%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Connections news, VP Patrick James Shea sold 7,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.26, for a total value of $1,171,950.00. Following the transaction, the vice president directly owned 19,737 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,084,103.62. This represents a 27.54% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, COO Jason Craft sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.59, for a total transaction of $234,885.00. Following the sale, 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 ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 11,811 shares of company stock valued at $1,887,572. Company insiders own 0.27% of the company’s stock.

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.