Westfield Capital Management Co. LP Has $66.76 Million Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Key Points

• Westfield Capital Management Co. LP reduced its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. by 1.6%, now holding 342,037 shares valued at approximately $66.76 million.
• Waste Connections reported a 7.1% increase in quarterly revenue year-over-year, with earnings per share (EPS) of $1.29, surpassing consensus estimates of $1.25.
• The company's recently announced quarterly dividend is $0.315, set to be paid on August 21st, with a dividend yield of 0.7%.

Westfield Capital Management Co. LP cut its position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 1.6% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 342,037 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 5,494 shares during the quarter. Westfield Capital Management Co. LP owned approximately 0.13% of Waste Connections worth $66,762,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Bank of Montreal Can boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 4.3% in the fourth quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 8,644,222 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,481,041,000 after acquiring an additional 356,798 shares during the last quarter. FIL Ltd boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 46.2% during the 4th quarter. FIL Ltd now owns 7,177,724 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,231,368,000 after buying an additional 2,269,652 shares during the last quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Waste Connections by 0.3% during the first quarter. WCM Investment Management LLC now owns 6,383,780 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,230,984,000 after purchasing an additional 18,400 shares during the last quarter. Capital International Investors increased its stake in Waste Connections by 17.8% during the fourth quarter. Capital International Investors now owns 5,949,152 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,020,672,000 after purchasing an additional 899,058 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its stake in Waste Connections by 2.7% during the 4th quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,736,179 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $984,214,000 after buying an additional 150,683 shares during the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Connections Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE:WCN traded up $0.48 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $188.55. 489,664 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,135,294. 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, Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.36 and a 52-week high of $201.66. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $186.69 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $189.26. The company has a market capitalization of $48.72 billion, a PE ratio of 76.04, a P/E/G ratio of 3.38 and a beta of 0.58.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share (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 during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.39 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.24 earnings per share. Waste Connections's quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, research analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

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 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, August 6th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio is presently 50.81%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WCN has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Scotiabank boosted their price target on Waste Connections from $202.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, July 25th. National Bank Financial upgraded Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 26th. Melius began coverage on Waste Connections in a report on Monday, June 9th. They issued a "buy" rating on the stock. Truist Financial set a $220.00 target price on Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and five have given a strong buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and an average price target of $215.00.

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.