EP Wealth Advisors LLC Makes New Investment in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Key Points

• EP Wealth Advisors LLC has acquired a new stake in Waste Connections, Inc., purchasing 6,800 shares valued at approximately $1,327,000 in the first quarter.
• Institutional investors now control 86.09% of Waste Connections' stock, with significant increases in holdings from several firms, including a 56.2% boost from Canada Pension Plan Investment Board.
• Waste Connections recently reported quarterly earnings of $1.29 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations and marking a revenue increase of 7.1% compared to the previous year.

EP Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund acquired 6,800 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $1,327,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,247,244 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,901,049,000 after buying an additional 954,242 shares during the period. WCM Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 0.3% during the 1st quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 6,383,780 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,230,984,000 after buying an additional 18,400 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 5.8% during the 1st quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 4,575,547 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $892,023,000 after buying an additional 250,684 shares during the period. 1832 Asset Management L.P. grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 2.7% during the 1st quarter. 1832 Asset Management L.P. now owns 3,863,120 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $754,042,000 after buying an additional 100,716 shares during the period. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,819,259 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $744,420,000 after buying an additional 120,752 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WCN has been the subject of several research analyst reports. Melius initiated coverage on Waste Connections in a research report on Monday, June 9th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Waste Connections from $202.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. National Bank Financial upgraded Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Monday, May 26th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on Waste Connections from $221.00 to $219.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on Waste Connections from $197.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have assigned a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $215.00.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WCN traded down $1.94 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $179.33. 924,704 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 929,657. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $46.11 billion, a PE ratio of 36.37, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.61. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12 month low of $169.36 and a 12 month high of $201.66. The company's 50 day moving average price is $184.62 and its 200 day moving average price is $189.12.

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

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

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

Waste Connections 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.