Dimensional Fund Advisors LP Increases Stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 6.4% in the 2nd quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 386,448 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 23,194 shares during the quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $67,770,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other institutional investors and hedge funds have also made changes to their positions in the company. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 116.2% in the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 160 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 86 shares in the last quarter. OFI Invest Asset Management purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the first quarter valued at approximately $32,000. Pathway Financial Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the first quarter valued at approximately $43,000. Signature Resources Capital Management LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the second quarter valued at approximately $45,000. Finally, Sands Capital Management LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Connections by 76.6% in the fourth quarter. Sands Capital Management LLC now owns 378 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $56,000 after buying an additional 164 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Connections stock opened at $177.34 on Friday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 52 week low of $126.12 and a 52 week high of $187.54. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $181.71 and its 200-day simple moving average is $173.72. The firm has a market cap of $45.76 billion, a PE ratio of 57.74, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.88 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.97.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.24 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.17 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $2.25 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.22 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.16% and a net margin of 10.23%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 11.2% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.02 EPS. Equities analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, August 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, August 7th were issued a $0.285 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Wednesday, August 7th. This represents a $1.14 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.64%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.01%.

Insider Activity at Waste Connections

In related news, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total value of $2,902,215.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 48,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,706,466.95. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link. In other Waste Connections news, CFO Mary Anne Whitney sold 16,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, July 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $178.05, for a total transaction of $2,902,215.00. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 48,899 shares in the company, valued at approximately $8,706,466.95. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, SVP Philip Rivard sold 2,300 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, August 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.75, for a total value of $401,925.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 1,226 shares in the company, valued at approximately $214,243.50. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 21,600 shares of company stock worth $3,842,550. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have recently commented on WCN. Royal Bank of Canada boosted their price objective on Waste Connections from $195.00 to $199.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. CIBC lifted their price target on Waste Connections from $191.00 to $193.00 and gave the stock an “outperformer” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Waste Connections from $196.00 to $198.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. TD Cowen lifted their price target on Waste Connections from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Truist Financial lifted their price target on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, thirteen have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $187.28.

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.