Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN Holdings Raised by Gradient Investments LLC

Key Points

• Gradient Investments LLC increased its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. by 22.0% during the second quarter, acquiring a total of 114,922 shares worth approximately $21.5 million.
• Waste Connections reported earnings of $1.29 per share, exceeding analysts' estimates of $1.25, with revenue rising by 7.1% year-over-year.
• The company declared a quarterly dividend of $0.315 per share, representing a 0.7% yield, and its dividend payout ratio stands at 50.81%.

Gradient Investments LLC boosted its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 22.0% in the second quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 114,922 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 20,752 shares during the quarter. Gradient Investments LLC's holdings in Waste Connections were worth $21,458,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. Nuveen LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Connections in the 1st quarter worth approximately $623,155,000. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 954,242 shares during the last quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC increased its stake in shares of 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 purchasing an additional 913,882 shares during the last quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 195.0% during the 1st quarter. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec now owns 1,153,530 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $224,961,000 after purchasing an additional 762,468 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 45.0% during the 1st quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,621,661 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $316,532,000 after purchasing an additional 502,986 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

NYSE:WCN opened at $176.10 on Monday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.36 and a 1 year high of $201.66. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $184.14 and its 200 day simple moving average is $188.76. 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 market capitalization of $45.28 billion, a PE ratio of 71.01, a PEG ratio of 3.18 and a beta of 0.61.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last posted 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. Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.97% and a return on equity of 15.72%. The business had revenue of $2.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.39 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.24 EPS. Waste Connections's revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Waste Connections has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 6th were given a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 6th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 50.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WCN has been the topic of several analyst reports. National Bank Financial upgraded shares of Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, May 26th. Melius Research upgraded shares of Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $213.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Monday, June 9th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $216.00 to $218.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 9th. Scotiabank increased 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 note on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada dropped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $221.00 to $219.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and three have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections has an average 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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.