Nomura Holdings Inc. Invests $3.24 Million in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Nomura Holdings Inc. acquired a new stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor acquired 18,900 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $3,243,000.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 8.8% during the fourth quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 705 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $121,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the period. Jennison Associates LLC increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 0.4% in the fourth quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 14,247 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $2,445,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 41.4% in the fourth quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 222 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 59.7% during the fourth quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 190 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $33,000 after buying an additional 71 shares during the period. Finally, Inspire Advisors LLC raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. Inspire Advisors LLC now owns 3,943 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $676,000 after purchasing an additional 87 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WCN has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. Truist Financial set a $220.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, April 25th. StockNews.com lowered shares of Waste Connections from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday, April 3rd. They set an "outperform" rating for the company. Scotiabank boosted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $192.00 to $207.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $208.21.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WCN traded up $1.44 during trading on Monday, reaching $193.36. The company had a trading volume of 1,340,493 shares, compared to its average volume of 994,743. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52 week low of $160.34 and a 52 week high of $201.66. The stock has a market cap of $49.96 billion, a PE ratio of 80.90, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65. The business's 50 day moving average price is $192.60 and its 200-day moving average price is $186.44.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.13 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.23 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.22 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 15.54%. Waste Connections's revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $1.04 EPS. Analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, May 7th will be given a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, May 7th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is presently 51.85%.

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.