Versor Investments LP Trims Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Key Points

• Versor Investments LP significantly reduced its position in Waste Connections, Inc. by 75.2%, owning only 1,857 shares worth $362,000 after selling 5,616 shares in the 1st quarter.
• Several institutional investors increased their holdings in Waste Connections during the same period, including Nuveen LLC, which acquired a new position worth approximately $623 million, increasing overall institutional ownership to 86.09%.
• Brokerages recently upgraded Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating, with new price targets ranging from $204 to $220, reflecting a generally positive outlook among analysts.

Versor Investments LP cut its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 75.2% in the 1st quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 1,857 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 5,616 shares during the quarter. Versor Investments LP's holdings in Waste Connections were worth $362,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 4.6% during the first quarter. Checchi Capital Advisers LLC now owns 1,278 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $249,000 after acquiring an additional 56 shares during the last quarter. MWA Asset Management increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 1.2% during the first quarter. MWA Asset Management now owns 4,783 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $934,000 after acquiring an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. Tranquility Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 1.4% during the first quarter. Tranquility Partners LLC now owns 4,354 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $850,000 after acquiring an additional 58 shares during the last quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 29.2% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 283 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $55,000 after acquiring an additional 64 shares during the last quarter. Finally, AdvisorNet Financial Inc increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 28.9% during the first quarter. AdvisorNet Financial Inc now owns 290 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $57,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during 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 analysts recently commented on WCN shares. Citigroup decreased their price target on Waste Connections from $208.00 to $204.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Raymond James Financial reduced their price objective 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 report on Monday, June 9th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Finally, CIBC reissued an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, July 25th. 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.com, Waste Connections presently has an average rating of "Buy" and an average target price of $215.00.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Connections stock traded down $1.7840 during trading hours on Friday, reaching $184.6960. The company had a trading volume of 805,770 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,097,258. Waste Connections, Inc. has a one year low of $169.36 and a one year high of $201.66. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $185.49 and a 200 day simple moving average of $189.57. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market cap of $47.72 billion, a PE ratio of 74.47, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.33 and a beta of 0.58.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates 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 for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.24 earnings per share. Waste Connections has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared 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 was Wednesday, August 6th. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.