Kimelman & Baird LLC Makes New $29.89 Million Investment in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Kimelman & Baird LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) during the second quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund purchased 179,312 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $29,890,000. Waste Connections comprises about 1.6% of Kimelman & Baird LLC’s holdings, making the stock its 28th biggest position.

Several other hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Livforsakringsbolaget Skandia Omsesidigt bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the 2nd quarter worth $288,000. Rakuten Investment Management Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Connections during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $2,459,000. Empowered Funds LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the second quarter worth $2,460,000. United Capital Financial Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter valued at about $311,000. Finally, Centaurus Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the second quarter worth about $5,521,000. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research analysts recently weighed in on the stock. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 price objective (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, July 24th. Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $182.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 9th. Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, August 7th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on Waste Connections from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 13th. Finally, Barclays lifted their target price 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, July 28th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $200.89.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Connections stock 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 firm has a market capitalization of $41.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.05, a P/E/G ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.48. 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 business has a fifty day simple moving average of $167.73 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $163.12.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings results 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. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.86% and a return on equity of 17.31%. The company had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.29 EPS. Waste Connections’s quarterly revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.62 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Jason Craft sold 1,500 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The shares were 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 in the company, valued at $5,145,703.99. This represents a 4.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Robert Michael Cloninger sold 2,811 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, July 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $171.02, for a total value of $480,737.22. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 11,666 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,995,119.32. This represents a 19.42% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Over the last ninety days, insiders sold 14,311 shares of company stock valued at $2,303,997. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

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.