Vanguard Group Inc. Boosts Stock Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Key Points

• Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. by 3.3%, now owning approximately 11.71% of the company with shares valued at over $5.9 billion.
• Several hedge funds, including WCM Investment Management and Capital International Investors, have also significantly increased their holdings in Waste Connections.
• Research analysts have shown a positive outlook for Waste Connections, with target prices raised by firms like Scotiabank and Oppenheimer, leading to an average rating of "Buy" with a consensus target price of $215.00.

Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 3.3% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 30,247,244 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 954,242 shares during the period. Vanguard Group Inc. owned approximately 11.71% of Waste Connections worth $5,901,049,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. WCM Investment Management LLC increased 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 buying an additional 18,400 shares in the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its holdings 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 valued at $1,020,672,000 after buying an additional 899,058 shares in the last quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD increased its holdings 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 valued at $984,214,000 after buying an additional 150,683 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp increased its holdings 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 valued at $892,023,000 after buying an additional 250,684 shares in the last quarter. Finally, TD Asset Management Inc increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 3.3% in the first quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 3,819,259 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $744,420,000 after buying an additional 120,752 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have issued reports on WCN shares. Scotiabank increased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $202.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $216.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup dropped their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $208.00 to $204.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $220.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $215.00.

Waste Connections Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE WCN opened at $187.84 on Thursday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.36 and a 1 year high of $201.66. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $186.82 and its 200 day moving average price is $189.19. The firm has a market cap of $48.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.37 and a beta of 0.58. 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 (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 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 firm had revenue of $2.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.39 billion. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.24 earnings per share. Waste Connections's revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 6th will be issued a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 6th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.81%.

About Waste Connections

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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