Alberta Investment Management Corp Increases Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Key Points

• Alberta Investment Management Corp increased its stake in Waste Connections by 9.0%, owning 436,673 shares valued at approximately $85 million, making it the firm's 29th largest position.
• Waste Connections announced a quarterly dividend of $0.315 per share, payable on August 21st, representing a 0.7% dividend yield and a payout ratio of 50.81%.
• The company reported $1.29 earnings per share for the latest quarter, exceeding analysts' expectations of $1.25, alongside a revenue of $2.41 billion, marking a 7.1% year-over-year increase.

Alberta Investment Management Corp grew its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 9.0% in the first quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 436,673 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 36,005 shares during the period. Waste Connections makes up about 0.6% of Alberta Investment Management Corp's holdings, making the stock its 29th largest holding. Alberta Investment Management Corp owned approximately 0.17% of Waste Connections worth $85,102,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd purchased a new position in Waste Connections in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. grew its position in Waste Connections by 122.0% in the first 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 during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Waste Connections by 994.4% in the first 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 during the period. Global Financial Private Client LLC grew its position in Waste Connections by 890.0% in the first 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 during the period. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. grew its position in Waste Connections by 232.3% in the first quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 216 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WCN has been the subject of several analyst reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Waste Connections from $197.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, May 23rd. Scotiabank upped their price target 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. Seaport Res Ptn upgraded Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Waste Connections from $221.00 to $219.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Truist Financial set a $220.00 target price on Waste Connections in a report on Friday, April 25th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $215.00.

Waste Connections Stock Down 0.0%

NYSE:WCN traded down $0.03 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $186.64. The company had a trading volume of 1,129,567 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,365,086. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.23 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 75.26, a PEG ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.58. The stock's fifty day simple moving average is $187.54 and its 200-day simple moving average is $188.92. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12-month low of $169.36 and a 12-month high of $201.66. 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 (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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%. Waste Connections's revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.24 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate 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. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 6th will be issued a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 6th. Waste Connections's payout ratio is 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.