Russell Investments Group Ltd. Raises Stock Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Key Points

• Russell Investments Group Ltd. increased its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. by 104.4%, acquiring 160,187 additional shares, now owning around 0.12% of the company valued at approximately $61.2 million.
• Waste Connections reported a 7.1% year-over-year revenue increase of $2.41 billion, along with a quarterly earnings per share of $1.29, exceeding analysts' expectations.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.315 per share, reflecting an annualized payout of $1.26, with a dividend yield of 0.7%.

Russell Investments Group Ltd. boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 104.4% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 313,621 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 160,187 shares during the quarter. Russell Investments Group Ltd. owned 0.12% of Waste Connections worth $61,204,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of WCN. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the 1st quarter worth approximately $623,155,000. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Waste Connections by 3.3% during the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 30,247,244 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $5,901,049,000 after buying an additional 954,242 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in Waste Connections by 19,519.1% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 918,564 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $179,295,000 after buying an additional 913,882 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors raised its position in Waste Connections by 17.8% during the 4th quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,949,152 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,020,672,000 after buying an additional 899,058 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. raised its position in Waste Connections by 20.7% during the 1st quarter. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. now owns 2,413,615 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $470,524,000 after buying an additional 413,190 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Friday, April 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada cut their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $221.00 to $219.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 25th. Melius assumed coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Monday, June 9th. They set a "buy" rating for the company. Oppenheimer lifted 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. Finally, Citigroup cut their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $208.00 to $204.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Monday, July 28th. Four equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.00.

Waste Connections Price Performance

WCN traded up $0.05 on Friday, hitting $184.78. 904,236 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,228,545. Waste Connections, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.36 and a fifty-two week 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. The firm has a 50-day moving average price of $185.91 and a 200-day moving average price of $189.55. The stock has a market cap of $47.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 74.51, a P/E/G 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 the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.04. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 6.97%. The business had revenue of $2.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.39 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.24 EPS. The company's quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

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