Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. Purchases 5,780 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Key Points

• Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. by 6.4%, now owning 96,035 shares valued at approximately $18.7 million.
• Waste Connections reported a $1.29 EPS for its latest quarter, surpassing analysts' expectations and achieving a 7.1% increase in revenue compared to the previous year.
• Institutional investors own approximately 86.09% of Waste Connections shares, highlighting a strong interest from larger financial entities.

Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd. boosted its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 6.4% during the 1st quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 96,035 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 5,780 shares during the quarter. Resona Asset Management Co. Ltd.'s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $18,722,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other institutional investors have also added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. lifted its position in Waste Connections by 122.0% in the 1st quarter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. now owns 182 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $36,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in Waste Connections by 994.4% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 197 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC lifted its position in Waste Connections by 890.0% in the 1st quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 198 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $39,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares in the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its position in Waste Connections by 232.3% during the 1st quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 216 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $41,000 after buying an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisbourg Investments Inc. lifted its position in Waste Connections by 128.6% during the 1st quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. now owns 240 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $47,000 after buying an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analyst Ratings Changes

Several equities research analysts have commented on the stock. Truist Financial set a $220.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Atb Cap Markets raised shares of Waste Connections from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Scotiabank boosted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $202.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Citigroup cut their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $208.00 to $204.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn upgraded shares of Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Four 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 stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.00.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

WCN traded down $0.86 on Thursday, reaching $184.88. The company had a trading volume of 868,520 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,244,347. Waste Connections, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.36 and a fifty-two week high of $201.66. The stock has a market cap of $47.77 billion, a P/E ratio of 74.55, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.58. The company's fifty day moving average is $186.02 and its 200 day moving average is $189.54. 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 in the prior year, the business posted $1.24 EPS. The business's revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 6th will be given a dividend of $0.315 per share. 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 is presently 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.