Gabelli Funds LLC Cuts Position in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Key Points

• Gabelli Funds LLC has reduced its stock holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. by 1.8%, owning approximately 192,817 shares valued at $37.6 million.
• Several institutional investors, including Ramirez Asset Management and Larson Financial Group, significantly increased their stakes in Waste Connections by over 122% and 994%, respectively.
• Waste Connections reported earnings of $1.29 per share for the last quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations and marking a 7.1% increase in revenue year-over-year.

Gabelli Funds LLC lowered its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 192,817 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,495 shares during the quarter. Gabelli Funds LLC owned 0.07% of Waste Connections worth $37,636,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. raised its position in Waste Connections by 122.0% during the first quarter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. now owns 182 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 994.4% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 197 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC boosted its position in Waste Connections by 890.0% during the first quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 198 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after buying an additional 178 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 232.3% during the first quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 216 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Louisbourg Investments Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 128.6% in the first quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. now owns 240 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 135 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages recently weighed in on WCN. Raymond James Financial dropped their target price on Waste Connections from $224.00 to $211.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Melius Research raised Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $213.00 price objective for the company in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Melius began coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Monday, June 9th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Citigroup decreased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $208.00 to $204.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $197.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.00.

Waste Connections Stock Up 0.0%

Waste Connections stock traded up $0.08 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $183.31. 636,216 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,016,622. Waste Connections, Inc. has a one year low of $169.36 and a one year high of $201.66. The firm's 50-day moving average price is $185.15 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $189.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. The company has a market cap of $47.37 billion, a PE ratio of 73.92, a PEG ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.58.

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

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 6th were given a dividend of $0.315 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 6th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. 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.