Premier Fund Managers Ltd Acquires 30,136 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Key Points

• Premier Fund Managers Ltd increased its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. by 10.0% during the first quarter, now holding 331,088 shares valued at approximately $63.8 million.
• Several other institutional investors have also significantly increased their holdings in Waste Connections, with 86.09% of the stock now owned by institutional investors.
• Wall Street analysts have a consensus rating of "Buy" for Waste Connections, with an average price target of $215.00, indicating positive growth expectations.

Premier Fund Managers Ltd raised its position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 10.0% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The institutional investor owned 331,088 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 30,136 shares during the quarter. Waste Connections comprises 2.4% of Premier Fund Managers Ltd's portfolio, making the stock its 9th largest holding. Premier Fund Managers Ltd owned about 0.13% of Waste Connections worth $63,841,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new position in Waste Connections during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 122.0% during the 1st quarter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. now owns 182 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 41.4% during the 4th quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 222 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 994.4% during the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 197 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $38,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Global Financial Private Client LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 890.0% during the 1st quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 198 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several research firms have recently weighed in on WCN. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Waste Connections from $202.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Truist Financial set a $220.00 price objective on Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Melius began coverage on Waste Connections in a research note on Monday, June 9th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. 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. Finally, William Blair started coverage on Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, April 3rd. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Four analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $215.00.

Waste Connections Stock Down 0.1%

Shares of NYSE:WCN traded down $0.25 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $186.42. 772,533 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,146,593. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.36 and a 52-week high of $201.66. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $187.54 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $188.92. The company has a market capitalization of $48.17 billion, a PE ratio of 75.36, a P/E/G ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.60.

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

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 6th will be given a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is 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.