Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. Invests $984,000 in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. bought a new stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 5,906 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $984,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Nicholas Company Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 32.4% in the fourth quarter. Nicholas Company Inc. now owns 449,112 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $78,756,000 after buying an additional 109,950 shares during the period. Rathbones Group PLC increased its stake in Waste Connections by 1.2% during the 4th quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 669,442 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $117,394,000 after acquiring an additional 7,866 shares during the period. Mirabaud Asset Management Ltd raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 28.9% in the 4th quarter. Mirabaud Asset Management Ltd now owns 56,620 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,754,000 after acquiring an additional 12,680 shares in the last quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 16.2% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer Asset Management Inc. now owns 60,140 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,546,000 after acquiring an additional 8,363 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Everstar Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 4th quarter valued at $2,100,000. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Waste Connections

In related news, SVP Robert Michael Cloninger sold 2,811 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on 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 directly owned 11,666 shares in the company, valued at $1,995,119.32. This represents a 19.42% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, 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 completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer directly owned 32,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $5,145,703.99. The trade was a 4.37% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 14,311 shares of company stock worth $2,303,997 over the last three months. 0.27% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts have recently issued reports on WCN shares. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Waste Connections from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, July 13th. UBS Group reaffirmed a “neutral” rating and set a $176.00 price objective (up from $170.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Tuesday, August 4th. Barclays increased their price objective 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. 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 report on Thursday, July 9th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “hold (c)” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, August 7th. Two investment 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 company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $200.89.

Waste Connections Trading Up 0.2%

Shares of WCN opened at $169.81 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a current ratio of 0.66. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $146.89 and a 52-week high of $188.09. The firm has a market cap of $42.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.92, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.48. The business’s fifty day moving average is $166.53 and its 200-day moving average is $163.13.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.15. The business had revenue of $2.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 for the quarter was up 6.4% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.29 EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.62 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

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

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.