Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. Makes New Investment in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Harvest Portfolios Group Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) in the second quarter, HoldingsChannel.com reports. The firm bought 5,201 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $972,000.

Several other institutional investors and hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the business. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. increased its position in Waste Connections by 122.0% during the first 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 during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 994.4% during the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Trust Co. of Toledo NA OH acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $51,000. Marshall & Sullivan Inc. WA bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections during the second quarter worth approximately $70,000. Finally, Valley National Advisers Inc. raised its position in shares of Waste Connections by 83.3% in the second quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 396 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $73,000 after buying an additional 180 shares in the last quarter. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Connections

In related news, Director Edward E. Guillet sold 9,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, October 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $174.44, for a total transaction of $1,569,960.00. Following the sale, the director owned 14,883 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,596,190.52. This trade represents a 37.68% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. 0.28% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Waste Connections Stock Up 0.5%

Shares of NYSE WCN opened at $166.08 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $42.52 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 69.20, a PEG ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a current ratio of 0.67, a quick ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12 month low of $164.37 and a 12 month high of $201.66. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $173.80 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $183.63.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings results 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 analyst estimates of $2.46 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.65% and a return on equity of 16.07%. The firm’s revenue was up 5.1% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.35 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 fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 20th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, November 5th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, November 5th. This is a positive change from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.32. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio is currently 58.33%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities research analysts recently issued reports on WCN shares. Royal Bank Of Canada reduced their price target on Waste Connections from $221.00 to $219.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, July 25th. Raymond James Financial set a $213.00 target price on Waste Connections and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Monday, October 6th. Barclays restated a “negative” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. UBS Group set a $195.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 23rd. Finally, CIBC reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, July 25th. Five analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has an average rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $210.63.

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.