Nuveen LLC Takes $623.16 Million Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Key Points

• Nuveen LLC has acquired a new stake in Waste Connections, Inc. valued at approximately $623.16 million, purchasing over 3.1 million shares in the first quarter, which represents 1.24% ownership of the company.
• Institutional investors hold 86.09% of Waste Connections' stock, indicating strong institutional confidence in the company's performance.
• Waste Connections recently reported earnings of $1.29 per share, exceeding analysts' expectations, along with a quarterly dividend announcement of $0.315, reflecting a yield of 0.7%.

Nuveen LLC bought a new stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor bought 3,192,557 shares of the business services provider's stock, valued at approximately $623,155,000. Nuveen LLC owned 1.24% of Waste Connections at the end of the most recent quarter.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 3.3% in the first quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,247,244 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $5,901,049,000 after acquiring an additional 954,242 shares in the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 0.3% in the first quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 6,383,780 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,230,984,000 after acquiring an additional 18,400 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors grew its stake in Waste Connections by 17.8% in the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,949,152 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,020,672,000 after purchasing an additional 899,058 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Waste Connections by 2.7% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,736,179 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $984,214,000 after purchasing an additional 150,683 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its stake in Waste Connections by 5.8% in the first quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 4,575,547 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $892,023,000 after purchasing an additional 250,684 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of equities analysts recently commented on the company. CIBC reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, July 25th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Waste Connections from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Waste Connections from $216.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Truist Financial set a $220.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $202.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and five have assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $215.00.

Waste Connections Stock Up 0.0%

WCN stock opened at $188.15 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00. Waste Connections, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.36 and a fifty-two week high of $201.66. The firm's 50-day simple moving average is $186.51 and its 200 day simple moving average is $189.40. The stock has a market cap of $48.62 billion, a PE ratio of 75.87, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.39 and a beta of 0.58.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings data 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. Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.97% and a return on equity of 15.72%. The business had revenue of $2.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.24 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 6th will be given a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 6th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is currently 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.

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