WCM Investment Management LLC Raises Stock Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Key Points

• WCM Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter, owning a total of 6,501,719 shares valued at approximately $1.21 billion.
• Waste Connections reported Q2 earnings per share (EPS) of $1.29, exceeding estimates and marking a 7.1% revenue increase compared to the same quarter last year.
• The company announced a quarterly dividend of $0.315 per share, translating to an annualized yield of 0.7%, with a payout ratio of 50.81%.

WCM Investment Management LLC grew its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 1.8% during the 2nd quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 6,501,719 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 117,939 shares during the quarter. Waste Connections comprises approximately 2.8% of WCM Investment Management LLC's portfolio, making the stock its 14th biggest holding. WCM Investment Management LLC owned approximately 2.52% of Waste Connections worth $1,208,669,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Nuveen LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the first quarter worth about $623,155,000. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in Waste Connections by 3.3% during the first 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 period. Caisse DE Depot ET Placement DU Quebec lifted its position in Waste Connections by 195.0% during the first 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 buying an additional 762,468 shares during the period. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. lifted its position in Waste Connections by 46.6% during the second quarter. Montrusco Bolton Investments Inc. now owns 2,306,702 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $419,451,000 after buying an additional 732,718 shares during the period. Finally, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. lifted its position in Waste Connections by 45.0% during the first quarter. Goldman Sachs Group Inc. now owns 1,621,661 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $316,532,000 after buying an additional 502,986 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Connections Price Performance

WCN stock opened at $169.90 on Thursday. 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 1 year low of $169.36 and a 1 year high of $201.66. The firm has a market cap of $43.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 68.51, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.62. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $178.68 and a 200-day simple moving average of $186.28.

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 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 quarter last year, the firm earned $1.24 earnings per share. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. Waste Connections has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 6th were paid 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 was Wednesday, August 6th. Waste Connections's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 50.81%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

WCN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Atb Cap Markets upgraded Waste Connections from a "hold" rating to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 24th. Raymond James Financial set a $213.00 price target on Waste Connections and gave the stock a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Monday, October 6th. Citigroup dropped their price target on Waste Connections from $204.00 to $199.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, September 17th. Stifel Nicolaus began coverage on Waste Connections in a research note on Tuesday, September 30th. They set a "buy" rating and a $221.00 price target for the company. Finally, CIBC restated an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and three have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $211.73.

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.

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