Key Points
- Waste Connections CEO Ronald Mittelstaedt bought 50,000 shares at an average price of $152.24, spending about $7.6 million and increasing his direct ownership by nearly 20%.
- The company recently reported first-quarter earnings of $1.23 per share, beating estimates, though revenue of $2.33 billion came in below expectations.
- Waste Connections also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.35 per share, which works out to an annualized yield of about 0.9%.
Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) CEO Ronald Mittelstaedt bought 50,000 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 12th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $152.24 per share, for a total transaction of $7,612,000.00. Following the completion of the acquisition, the chief executive officer directly owned 301,017 shares in the company, valued at approximately $45,826,828.08. The trade was a 19.92% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website.
Waste Connections Trading Up 0.5%
WCN opened at $152.01 on Thursday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $148.84 and a fifty-two week high of $198.00. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.69 and a quick ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $38.80 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.08, a PEG ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.55. The company's 50 day moving average price is $162.17 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $167.50.
Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, April 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.23 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.19 by $0.04. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.97% and a return on equity of 16.49%. The firm had revenue of $2.33 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.50 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.13 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.5 earnings per share for the current year.
Waste Connections Announces Dividend
The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, May 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 6th. Waste Connections's payout ratio is presently 34.15%.
Institutional Inflows and Outflows
A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Aureus Asset Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 15.9% during the 1st quarter. Aureus Asset Management LLC now owns 314,556 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $51,096,000 after acquiring an additional 43,170 shares during the period. NewEdge Wealth LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 39.5% during the 1st quarter. NewEdge Wealth LLC now owns 5,699 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $926,000 after acquiring an additional 1,615 shares during the period. First Trust Advisors LP lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 25.9% during the 1st quarter. First Trust Advisors LP now owns 3,317 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $539,000 after acquiring an additional 682 shares during the period. ABN Amro Investment Solutions lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 49.6% during the 1st quarter. ABN Amro Investment Solutions now owns 16,340 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,654,000 after acquiring an additional 5,415 shares during the period. Finally, PNC Financial Services Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 0.6% during the 1st quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 85,668 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $13,916,000 after acquiring an additional 475 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company's stock.
Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades
A number of equities research analysts have weighed in on the stock. Morgan Stanley set a $205.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Weiss Ratings upgraded shares of Waste Connections from a "hold (c)" rating to a "hold (c+)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. TD Cowen dropped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $210.00 to $200.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, February 13th. BMO Capital Markets restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $208.00 price target (up from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada restated an "outperform" rating and issued a $218.00 price target (up from $210.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, April 24th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $203.35.
Get Our Latest Stock Report on WCN
About Waste Connections
(
Get Free Report)
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.
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