Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Sees Large Growth in Short Interest

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) was the target of a large increase in short interest in October. As of October 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,530,000 shares, an increase of 26.4% from the September 30th total of 1,210,000 shares. Based on an average daily volume of 845,800 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is presently 1.8 days. Currently, 0.6% of the company's stock are short sold.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.15, for a total transaction of $180,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,321 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $778,428.15. This 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. In other news, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,300 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, August 5th. The shares were 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 of the company's stock, valued at $214,243.50. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, August 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $180.15, for a total transaction of $180,150.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 4,321 shares of the company's stock, valued at $778,428.15. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 21,600 shares of company stock valued at $3,842,550. 0.31% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Connections

Hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 116.2% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter worth $36,000. Asset Dedication LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter worth $41,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections during the 1st quarter worth $43,000. Finally, Signature Resources Capital Management LLC bought a new position in Waste Connections during the 2nd quarter worth $45,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Waste Connections stock traded up $1.14 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $176.94. 719,321 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 881,201. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $181.95 and a 200-day simple moving average of $175.22. Waste Connections has a 12 month low of $128.41 and a 12 month high of $187.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97, a current ratio of 0.70 and a quick ratio of 0.70. The firm has a market cap of $45.66 billion, a PE ratio of 52.85, a PEG ratio of 2.98 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.30 by $0.05. The firm had revenue of $2.34 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.30 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.16% and a net margin of 10.23%. The company's revenue was up 13.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.17 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts expect that Waste Connections will post 4.82 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a dividend of $0.315 per share. This is an increase from Waste Connections's previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.71%. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 34.13%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms have recently commented on WCN. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Waste Connections from $199.00 to $201.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $205.00 price objective (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday. CIBC increased their price objective on Waste Connections from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the company an "outperformer" rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Waste Connections from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Monday, October 21st. Finally, TD Cowen increased their price objective on Waste Connections from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 26th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $195.56.

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.