Progressive Waste Solutions Ltd (USA) (BIN), Covanta Holding Corporation (CVA): Do Hedge Funds and Insiders Love Waste Connections, Inc. (WCN)?

Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) was in 11 hedge funds’ portfolio at the end of the fourth quarter of 2012. WCN investors should be aware of a decrease in activity from the world’s largest hedge funds lately. There were 16 hedge funds in our database with WCN positions at the end of the previous quarter.

In the financial world, there are dozens of metrics market participants can use to analyze publicly traded companies. Some of the most underrated are hedge fund and insider trading interest. At Insider Monkey, our studies have shown that, historically, those who follow the top picks of the top investment managers can outperform their index-focused peers by a superb amount (see just how much).

Equally as key, positive insider trading sentiment is another way to parse down the world of equities. There are a variety of incentives for a corporate insider to get rid of shares of his or her company, but only one, very obvious reason why they would buy. Various academic studies have demonstrated the impressive potential of this method if “monkeys” understand where to look (learn more here).

Now, it’s important to take a gander at the key action regarding Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN).

How are hedge funds trading Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)?

At the end of the fourth quarter, a total of 11 of the hedge funds we track were bullish in this stock, a change of -31% from one quarter earlier. With the smart money’s capital changing hands, there exists a few notable hedge fund managers who were increasing their stakes considerably.

Of the funds we track, Jim Simons’s Renaissance Technologies had the largest position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN), worth close to $43 million, comprising 0.1% of its total 13F portfolio. The second largest stake is held by D E Shaw, managed by D. E. Shaw, which held a $15 million position; the fund has 0% of its 13F portfolio invested in the stock. Remaining hedge funds that hold long positions include Dmitry Balyasny’s Balyasny Asset Management, Brian Ashford-Russell and Tim Woolley’s Polar Capital and Scott Burney’s Bluefin Investment Management.

Judging by the fact that Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) has faced bearish sentiment from the smart money, it’s safe to say that there exists a select few funds who sold off their full holdings at the end of the year. At the top of the heap, Israel Englander’s Millennium Management said goodbye to the largest stake of all the hedgies we key on, valued at about $10 million in stock., and Clint Carlson of Carlson Capital was right behind this move, as the fund sold off about $10 million worth. These transactions are intriguing to say the least, as aggregate hedge fund interest fell by 5 funds at the end of the year.

How are insiders trading Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)?

Bullish insider trading is particularly usable when the primary stock in question has experienced transactions within the past 180 days. Over the last six-month time period, Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) has seen zero unique insiders buying, and 8 insider sales (see the details of insider trades here).

Let’s check out hedge fund and insider activity in other stocks similar to Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN). These stocks are Stericycle Inc (NASDAQ:SRCL), Progressive Waste Solutions Ltd (USA) (NYSE:BIN), Covanta Holding Corporation (NYSE:CVA), Veolia Environnement SA (ADR) (NYSE:VE), and Clean Harbors Inc (NYSE:CLH). This group of stocks belong to the waste management industry and their market caps resemble WCN’s market cap.

With the results shown by our time-tested strategies, everyday investors must always watch hedge fund and insider trading sentiment, and Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) is no exception.

Click here to learn why you should track hedge funds