Schroder Investment Management Group Increases Position in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Schroder Investment Management Group grew its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 23.8% during the second quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 1,021,043 shares of the business services provider’s stock after purchasing an additional 196,250 shares during the quarter. Schroder Investment Management Group owned approximately 0.40% of Waste Connections worth $190,649,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds have also recently modified their holdings of the company. MWA Asset Management increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 1.2% in the first quarter. MWA Asset Management now owns 4,783 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $934,000 after buying an additional 57 shares during the last quarter. MAI Capital Management lifted its holdings in Waste Connections by 6.0% during the 1st quarter. MAI Capital Management now owns 1,116 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $218,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 3.0% during the 1st quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 2,289 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $447,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 3.7% in the 1st quarter. ICONIQ Capital LLC now owns 1,897 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $370,000 after acquiring an additional 68 shares during the last quarter. Finally, LWM Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 2.5% in the 1st quarter. LWM Advisory Services LLC now owns 3,034 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $591,000 after acquiring an additional 75 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on the company. Sanford C. Bernstein initiated coverage on Waste Connections in a research note on Wednesday, November 12th. They set an “outperform” rating and a $200.00 target price for the company. UBS Group set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, October 23rd. Raymond James Financial set a $213.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $202.00 target price on the stock. Finally, Scotiabank reiterated an “outperform” rating and set a $210.00 price target on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, October 23rd. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, sixteen have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $208.32.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Edward E. Guillet sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, October 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $174.44, for a total value of $1,569,960.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 14,883 shares in the company, valued at $2,596,190.52. This trade represents a 37.68% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WCN opened at $176.55 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $172.12 and a 200 day moving average price of $181.14. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $163.27 and a 1-year high of $201.66. The company has a market cap of $45.17 billion, a PE ratio of 73.56, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.60.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 21st. The business services provider reported $1.44 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.38 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $2.47 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $2.46 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.65% and a return on equity of 16.07%. Waste Connections’s revenue was up 5.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.35 EPS. Waste Connections has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, November 20th. Investors of record on Wednesday, November 5th were issued a dividend of $0.35 per share. This is an increase from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, November 5th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.33%.

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.