Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN Shares Bought by Renaissance Technologies LLC

Renaissance Technologies LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 43.9% in the first quarter, Holdings Channel reports. The institutional investor owned 143,461 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 43,800 shares during the period. Renaissance Technologies LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $23,304,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in the business. Ritholtz Wealth Management lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Ritholtz Wealth Management now owns 3,042 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $533,000 after purchasing an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC lifted its position in Waste Connections by 2.6% in the third quarter. Kestra Private Wealth Services LLC now owns 2,556 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $449,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. WPG Advisers LLC boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 7.7% in the fourth quarter. WPG Advisers LLC now owns 919 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $161,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 12.4% during the fourth quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB now owns 607 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $106,000 after purchasing an additional 67 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 2,991 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $525,000 after purchasing an additional 71 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Connections

In other Waste Connections news, VP Patrick James Shea sold 7,500 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.26, for a total transaction of $1,171,950.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the vice president owned 19,737 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,084,103.62. The trade was a 27.54% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Jason Craft sold 1,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, June 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $156.59, for a total transaction of $234,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 32,861 shares in the company, valued at $5,145,703.99. This trade represents a 4.37% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. 0.27% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated an “outperform” rating and set a $199.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, July 24th. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $218.00 target price (up from $210.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, April 24th. Barclays increased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Tuesday. The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $211.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Finally, TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $202.42.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

WCN opened at $172.93 on Thursday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $146.89 and a 1-year high of $191.73. The stock has a market cap of $43.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 41.67, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.49. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $162.12 and its 200 day simple moving average is $163.21. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a current ratio of 0.66 and a quick ratio of 0.66.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.15. The firm had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.51 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 10.86%.Waste Connections’s revenue was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.29 earnings per share. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.63 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 6th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is presently 33.73%.

Waste Connections Company 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.