Ascent Group LLC Boosts Stock Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Ascent Group LLC lifted its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 326.3% during the 2nd quarter, HoldingsChannel reports. The firm owned 6,352 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 4,862 shares during the quarter. Ascent Group LLC’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $1,186,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. raised its holdings 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 worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 100 shares in the last quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Waste Connections by 994.4% in the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 197 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its stake in Waste Connections by 232.3% during the first quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 216 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $41,000 after purchasing an additional 151 shares in the last quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. lifted its position in Waste Connections by 128.6% during the first quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. now owns 240 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $47,000 after purchasing an additional 135 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 29.2% in the 1st quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 283 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $55,000 after buying an additional 64 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waste Connections Price Performance

Shares of WCN stock opened at $174.30 on Monday. The stock has a 50 day moving average price of $181.16 and a 200 day moving average price of $187.29. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52-week low of $169.36 and a 52-week high of $201.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a current ratio of 0.67. The firm has a market capitalization of $44.72 billion, a P/E ratio of 70.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.15 and a beta of 0.62.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating 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 company had revenue of $2.41 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $2.39 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.24 EPS. Waste Connections’s quarterly revenue was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. Waste Connections has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 6th were paid a $0.315 dividend. 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 is currently 50.81%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several brokerages have recently issued reports on WCN. Melius Research upgraded shares of Waste Connections to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $213.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Stifel Nicolaus initiated coverage on Waste Connections in a research report on Tuesday, September 30th. They set a “buy” rating and a $221.00 price objective on the stock. Scotiabank lifted their target price on Waste Connections from $202.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Friday, July 25th. Royal Bank Of Canada decreased their price target on Waste Connections from $221.00 to $219.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 25th. Finally, Citigroup lowered their price target on Waste Connections from $204.00 to $199.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, September 17th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eleven have given a Buy rating and five have issued a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus price target of $213.64.

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.