Baird Financial Group Inc. Increases Stock Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Key Points

• Baird Financial Group Inc. increased its stake in Waste Connections by 2.6%, acquiring an additional 11,914 shares, bringing its total holdings to approximately 464,005 shares valued at about $90.6 million.
• Several hedge funds have significantly boosted their investments in Waste Connections, with some reporting increases of over 900% during the first quarter, indicating strong institutional interest in the stock.
• Waste Connections recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.315 per share, reflecting an annualized dividend of $1.26 and a yield of 0.7%, with a payout ratio of 50.81%.

Baird Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 2.6% in the first quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 464,005 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 11,914 shares during the quarter. Baird Financial Group Inc. owned about 0.18% of Waste Connections worth $90,569,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of WCN. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 122.0% in the 1st quarter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. now owns 182 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 994.4% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 197 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 890.0% in the 1st quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 198 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 232.3% in the 1st quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 216 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisbourg Investments Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 128.6% in the 1st quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. now owns 240 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have issued reports on the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their target price on Waste Connections from $197.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Atb Cap Markets raised Waste Connections from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Oppenheimer raised their target price on Waste Connections from $216.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Citigroup lowered their price target on Waste Connections from $208.00 to $204.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price target on Waste Connections from $221.00 to $219.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and three have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $215.00.

Waste Connections Trading Up 1.0%

Shares of NYSE WCN traded up $1.86 during mid-day trading on Monday, reaching $185.10. 690,040 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 943,188. The firm has a market capitalization of $47.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.64, a PEG ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.61. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.36 and a 52-week high of $201.66. The company's 50-day moving average is $185.09 and its 200-day moving average is $189.33.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.39 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 6.97%.The company's revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.24 EPS. Waste Connections has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 6th were issued a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 6th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.81%.

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.