Fiera Capital Corp Purchases 157,472 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Key Points

• Fiera Capital Corp increased its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. by 6.9%, owning approximately 2.44 million shares worth $475.6 million, making it the 18th largest position in their portfolio.
• The company reported earnings per share of $1.29 for the last quarter, surpassing expectations of $1.25, with revenue reaching $2.41 billion, a 7.1% increase year-over-year.
• Waste Connections announced a quarterly dividend of $0.315 per share, with an annualized dividend of $1.26, representing a dividend yield of 0.68%.

Fiera Capital Corp grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 6.9% in the first quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The fund owned 2,437,854 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 157,472 shares during the period. Waste Connections comprises about 1.7% of Fiera Capital Corp's portfolio, making the stock its 18th largest holding. Fiera Capital Corp owned 0.94% of Waste Connections worth $475,649,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of WCN. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Oarsman Capital Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 41.4% during the 4th quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 222 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares during the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 994.4% during 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 during the last quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 890.0% during 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 during the last quarter. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 232.3% during the 1st quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 216 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Waste Connections Stock Up 0.2%

Shares of NYSE WCN traded up $0.42 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $187.09. The company had a trading volume of 600,462 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,145,908. Waste Connections, Inc. has a twelve month low of $169.36 and a twelve month high of $201.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.34 billion, a PE ratio of 75.43, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.60. The stock's 50 day moving average is $187.54 and its 200-day moving average is $188.92.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last posted its 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. The firm had revenue of $2.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.97% and a return on equity of 15.72%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.24 earnings per share. As a group, equities 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 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 is Wednesday, August 6th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is 50.81%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of brokerages have recently commented on WCN. CIBC reiterated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Melius Research raised shares of Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $213.00 target price on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $197.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, May 23rd. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $216.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Finally, Atb Cap Markets raised shares of Waste Connections from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, July 24th. Four investment 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's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $215.00.

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.