Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN Shares Sold by Argent Capital Management LLC

Key Points

• Argent Capital Management LLC sold 3,834 shares of Waste Connections, decreasing its stake by 1.1%, making it the 23rd largest holding in their portfolio.
• Institutional investors now own 86.09% of Waste Connections, with several hedge funds recently increasing their stakes significantly.
• Waste Connections has received several upgrades and buy ratings from analysts, with a consensus price target of $213.00 for its stock.

Argent Capital Management LLC lessened its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 1.1% during the second quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 352,943 shares of the business services provider's stock after selling 3,834 shares during the quarter. Waste Connections comprises about 1.9% of Argent Capital Management LLC's investment portfolio, making the stock its 23rd biggest holding. Argent Capital Management LLC owned 0.14% of Waste Connections worth $65,901,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 122.0% during the 1st quarter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. now owns 182 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its stake in Waste Connections by 994.4% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 197 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after buying an additional 179 shares in the last quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 890.0% during the first quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 198 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the period. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its position in Waste Connections by 232.3% in the first quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 216 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $41,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisbourg Investments Inc. raised its position in Waste Connections by 128.6% in the first quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. now owns 240 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $47,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WCN has been the subject of several research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $221.00 to $219.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Barclays started coverage on Waste Connections in a report on Friday. They issued an "equal weight" rating and a $192.00 target price on the stock. National Bank Financial raised Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Monday, May 26th. Atb Cap Markets upgraded Waste Connections from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Finally, Scotiabank boosted their price objective on Waste Connections from $202.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $213.00.

Waste Connections Stock Down 0.7%

Waste Connections stock opened at $172.71 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. Waste Connections, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $169.36 and a fifty-two week high of $201.66. The firm has a fifty day moving average price of $183.14 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $188.12. The firm has a market cap of $44.41 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.64, a P/E/G ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.61.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.04. The business had revenue of $2.41 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.39 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 6.97%.The firm's revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.24 EPS. Waste Connections has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts forecast 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 was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, August 6th were paid a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, August 6th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.7%. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) 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.

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