Thrivent Financial for Lutherans Increases Stock Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Thrivent Financial for Lutherans raised its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 10.2% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund owned 10,106 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 932 shares during the period. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans’ holdings in Waste Connections were worth $1,772,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently made changes to their positions in WCN. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC lifted its position in Waste Connections by 116.2% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 86 shares during the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the first quarter worth approximately $32,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the 1st quarter worth approximately $43,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the 2nd quarter valued at $45,000. Finally, Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC grew its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 3,885.7% during the 2nd quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 279 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $49,000 after purchasing an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several analysts have weighed in on WCN shares. CIBC boosted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an “outperformer” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their target price on Waste Connections from $195.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen increased their target price on Waste Connections from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Truist Financial lifted their price target on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets increased their price objective on Waste Connections from $196.00 to $198.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $188.65.

Waste Connections Price Performance

WCN stock opened at $177.54 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.70. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $126.12 and a 1 year high of $187.54. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $181.49 and a 200 day moving average of $173.98. The company has a market cap of $45.81 billion, a P/E ratio of 57.64, a PEG ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.07. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.16% and a net margin of 10.23%. The company had revenue of $2.25 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.22 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.02 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 7th were given a $0.285 dividend. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.64%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 7th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total transaction of $2,902,215.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 48,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,706,466.95. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.75, for a total transaction of $401,925.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 1,226 shares in the company, valued at $214,243.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total transaction of $2,902,215.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 48,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,706,466.95. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 21,600 shares of company stock worth $3,842,550 in the last three months. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

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.