Goldman Sachs Group Inc. Purchases 502,986 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Key Points

• Goldman Sachs increased its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. by 45.0% in the first quarter, acquiring an additional 502,986 shares, bringing its total holdings to 1,621,661 shares worth approximately $316.5 million.
• Several analysts have expressed strong positive sentiment towards Waste Connections, with a consensus rating of Buy and a target price of $215.00, while Oppenheimer recently raised its price target to $218.00.
• Waste Connections announced a quarterly dividend of $0.315 per share, resulting in an annualized yield of 0.7%, with a dividend payout ratio of 50.81%.

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 45.0% during the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,621,661 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 502,986 shares during the quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. owned about 0.63% of Waste Connections worth $316,532,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently bought and sold shares of the business. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC raised its position in Waste Connections by 4.6% in the first quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 1,278 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $249,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares in the last quarter. MWA Asset Management raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 1.2% during the 1st quarter. MWA Asset Management now owns 4,783 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $934,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the period. Tranquility Partners LLC raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 1.4% during the 1st quarter. Tranquility Partners LLC now owns 4,354 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $850,000 after buying an additional 58 shares during the period. MAI Capital Management raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,116 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $218,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the period. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 29.2% during the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 283 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 64 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WCN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their price objective on Waste Connections from $221.00 to $219.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 25th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on Waste Connections from $197.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a report on Friday, May 23rd. Melius Research upgraded Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $213.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, June 9th. Raymond James Financial lowered their target price on Waste Connections from $224.00 to $211.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their target price on Waste Connections from $216.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. 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 stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $215.00.

Waste Connections Stock Down 1.1%

NYSE:WCN traded down $2.04 on Friday, hitting $176.10. 1,527,286 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,001,709. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.36 and a 1 year high of $201.66. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $184.14 and a 200-day moving average price of $188.74. The company has a market cap of $45.28 billion, a PE ratio of 71.01, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.61.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate 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 firm's quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.24 EPS. Waste Connections has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Equities analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 6th were paid a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 6th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Waste Connections's payout ratio is presently 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.