Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Short Interest Update

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) saw a large drop in short interest in the month of September. As of September 30th, there was short interest totalling 1,210,000 shares, a drop of 25.8% from the September 15th total of 1,630,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 898,800 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 1.3 days. Approximately 0.5% of the company’s stock are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WCN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $196.00 target price on the stock. TD Cowen lifted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. CIBC lifted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an “outperformer” rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $181.00 to $191.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, July 15th. Finally, Citigroup lifted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $190.00 to $195.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $191.53.

Waste Connections Trading Up 0.4 %

Shares of NYSE WCN opened at $182.16 on Tuesday. Waste Connections has a 1-year low of $126.12 and a 1-year high of $187.54. The company has a market cap of $47.00 billion, a PE ratio of 59.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a current ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97. The company has a 50-day moving average of $181.90 and a two-hundred day moving average of $174.47.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.24 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.17 by $0.07. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.23% and a return on equity of 15.16%. The company had revenue of $2.25 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.02 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities analysts expect that Waste Connections will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 7th were paid a dividend of $0.285 per share. This represents a $1.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.63%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 7th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 37.01%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Connections

In other Waste Connections news, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction on 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 48,899 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,706,466.95. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. In other news, SVP Susan Netherton sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $179.13, for a total transaction of $358,260.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 10,078 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,805,272.14. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on 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 transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 48,899 shares in the company, valued at $8,706,466.95. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 21,600 shares of company stock valued at $3,842,550 in the last quarter. Company insiders own 0.31% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Connections

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 116.2% during the first 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 bought a new stake 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 during the first quarter worth approximately $43,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the second quarter worth approximately $45,000. Finally, Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 3,885.7% during the second quarter. Carolinas Wealth Consulting LLC now owns 279 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $49,000 after buying an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waste Connections Company Profile

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.