Sirios Capital Management L P Trims Stock Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Sirios Capital Management L P trimmed its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 40.7% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm owned 34,484 shares of the business services provider’s stock after selling 23,653 shares during the quarter. Sirios Capital Management L P’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $5,147,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds have also added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. Pacifica Partners Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Headinvest LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter valued at about $36,000. Operose Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the third quarter worth approximately $40,000. Rational Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waste Connections during the third quarter valued at approximately $41,000. Finally, Sands Capital Management LLC grew its stake in Waste Connections by 76.6% in the 4th quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $56,000 after buying an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of WCN traded up $2.25 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $167.79. The stock had a trading volume of 863,722 shares, compared to its average volume of 898,878. The firm has a market capitalization of $43.29 billion, a PE ratio of 53.75, a PEG ratio of 2.64 and a beta of 0.70. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 0.75 and a quick ratio of 0.75. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $165.75 and a 200 day moving average price of $158.96. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12 month low of $126.12 and a 12 month high of $173.02.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.04 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.02 by $0.02. The business had revenue of $2.07 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.05 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 9.70% and a return on equity of 14.66%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $0.89 earnings per share. Analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.85 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 23rd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 8th were issued a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Tuesday, May 7th. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.68%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.01%.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.00, for a total value of $332,000.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 6,321 shares in the company, valued at $1,049,286. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 2,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, May 9th. The stock was sold at an average price of $166.00, for a total transaction of $332,000.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 6,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,049,286. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael W. Harlan sold 1,500 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction on Friday, May 10th. The stock was sold at an average price of $167.59, for a total transaction of $251,385.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 8,004 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,341,390.36. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $217.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft began coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, May 23rd. They set a “buy” rating and a $189.00 price target on the stock. CIBC increased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $175.00 to $195.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $170.00 to $185.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $196.00 to $195.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $179.94.

About Waste Connections

Waste Connections, Inc provides non-hazardous waste collection, transfer, disposal, and resource recovery services in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services to residential, commercial, municipal, industrial, and exploration and production (E&P) customers; landfill disposal services; and recycling services for various recyclable materials, including compost, cardboard, mixed paper, plastic containers, glass bottles, and ferrous and aluminum metals.