Pacific Sun Financial Corp Buys Shares of 7,100 Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Pacific Sun Financial Corp purchased a new position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) in the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund purchased 7,100 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $987,000.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bessemer Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 23.9% in the 1st quarter. Bessemer Group Inc. now owns 16,185 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,250,000 after acquiring an additional 3,120 shares during the period. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd lifted its position in Waste Connections by 65.9% in the fourth quarter. Lombard Odier Asset Management Europe Ltd now owns 18,154 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,406,000 after purchasing an additional 7,208 shares during the period. First Horizon Advisors Inc. boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 53.0% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Advisors Inc. now owns 433 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $57,000 after buying an additional 150 shares in the last quarter. HBK Investments L P bought a new stake in Waste Connections in the 1st quarter valued at $958,000. Finally, Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 9.0% in the 1st quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 191,602 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,646,000 after buying an additional 15,885 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 85.02% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Up 0.1 %

WCN traded up $0.19 during trading on Monday, reaching $141.98. The company had a trading volume of 155,174 shares, compared to its average volume of 878,745. The company has a market cap of $36.58 billion, a P/E ratio of 43.45, a PEG ratio of 3.09 and a beta of 0.67. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12 month low of $124.23 and a 12 month high of $146.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.90, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.76. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $140.17 and its 200 day moving average price is $138.94.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, August 2nd. The business services provider reported $1.02 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.01 by $0.01. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.93% and a return on equity of 14.01%. The firm had revenue of $2.02 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.01 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.00 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 11.3% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.19 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Wednesday, August 30th. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 16th were issued a dividend of $0.255 per share. This represents a $1.02 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.72%. The ex-dividend date was Tuesday, August 15th. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is 31.38%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research firms recently weighed in on WCN. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $152.00 to $159.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, August 4th. StockNews.com assumed coverage on Waste Connections in a report on Sunday, August 20th. They issued a “hold” rating for the company. Raymond James cut their target price on Waste Connections from $165.00 to $163.00 and set a “strong-buy” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Citigroup upped their price target on Waste Connections from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, August 4th. Finally, CIBC lifted their price objective on Waste Connections from $155.00 to $156.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Friday, August 4th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $160.08.

Insider Activity at Waste Connections

In related news, VP James Little sold 3,200 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 18th. The stock was sold at an average price of $137.97, for a total value of $441,504.00. Following the sale, the vice president now owns 26,210 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,616,193.70. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.35% of the stock is owned by 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.