Carnegie Investment Counsel Lowers Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Key Points

• Carnegie Investment Counsel reduced its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. by 33.7% during the first quarter, owning 3,123 shares valued at $577,000.
• Several institutional investors have increased their stakes, with FIL Ltd boosting its investment by 46.2%, now holding over $1.23 billion worth of shares.
• Waste Connections recently announced a quarterly dividend of $0.315, with an annualized yield of 0.67%, and a payout ratio of 50.81%.

Carnegie Investment Counsel decreased its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 33.7% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 3,123 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 1,587 shares during the period. Carnegie Investment Counsel's holdings in Waste Connections were worth $577,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also made changes to their positions in WCN. FIL Ltd boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 46.2% in the fourth quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 7,177,724 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,231,368,000 after acquiring an additional 2,269,652 shares in the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 19,519.1% in the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 918,564 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $179,295,000 after purchasing an additional 913,882 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 17.8% in the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,949,152 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,020,672,000 after purchasing an additional 899,058 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 239.9% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 647,727 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $115,558,000 after purchasing an additional 457,137 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Two Sigma Advisers LP increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 62.8% in the 4th quarter. Two Sigma Advisers LP now owns 962,850 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $165,206,000 after purchasing an additional 371,600 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Waste Connections Price Performance

WCN stock opened at $186.99 on Friday. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $188.06 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $188.65. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.36 and a 12-month high of $201.66. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The company has a market cap of $48.32 billion, a PE ratio of 75.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.29 and a beta of 0.60.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.25 by $0.04. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 6.97%. The firm had revenue of $2.41 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.24 earnings per share. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 6th will be given a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 6th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 50.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on WCN shares. CIBC increased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $212.00 to $215.00 and gave the company an "outperformer" rating in a report on Friday. Truist Financial set a $220.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, April 25th. Scotiabank increased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $202.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 26th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada lowered their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $221.00 to $219.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $215.62.

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.

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