Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN Shares Bought by Royal Bank of Canada

Royal Bank of Canada grew its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 0.9% in the 1st quarter, according to its most recent filing with the SEC. The firm owned 12,210,661 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 106,763 shares during the quarter. Royal Bank of Canada owned 4.78% of Waste Connections worth $1,983,500,000 as of its most recent filing with the SEC.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Rithm Capital Corp. raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 103.3% during the first quarter. Rithm Capital Corp. now owns 6,100 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $991,000 after purchasing an additional 3,100 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company increased its position in Waste Connections by 48.7% during the first quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 3,724,204 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $604,573,000 after buying an additional 1,219,056 shares during the period. Quantinno Capital Management LP boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 60.6% in the first quarter. Quantinno Capital Management LP now owns 37,868 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $6,150,000 after acquiring an additional 14,288 shares during the period. SummitTX Capital L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 1st quarter valued at $2,848,000. Finally, Owlhouse Capital LP acquired a new stake in Waste Connections during the 1st quarter worth $4,605,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on WCN shares. TD Cowen reissued a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday. Barclays boosted their target price on Waste Connections from $180.00 to $187.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $210.00 to $195.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, July 13th. BMO Capital Markets reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $208.00 price objective (up from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, April 24th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group restated a “buy” rating and issued a $211.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, April 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $202.42.

Key Waste Connections News

Here are the key news stories impacting Waste Connections this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Waste Connections received a favorable long-term assessment for its disciplined capital allocation, strong customer retention and focus on secondary and exclusive markets. Adjusted EBITDA margins expanded from 31.5% in 2023 to 33.0% in 2025, while free cash flow growth has outpaced revenue growth. Waste Connections: Turning Moderate Growth Into Exceptional Shareholder Returns
• Positive Sentiment: The company’s artificial-intelligence initiatives are beginning to support profitability. AI-assisted pricing is reportedly generating approximately $20 million in annualized EBITDA, with routing tools being tested to drive further efficiency and margin expansion. How Waste Connections Is Using AI to Expand Margins and Future Growth
• Neutral Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target for WCN from $180 to $187 but maintained an “equal weight” rating. The higher target indicates greater valuation support, although the rating suggests the firm sees limited near-term outperformance versus the broader market. Barclays Raises Waste Connections Price Target
• Neutral Sentiment: Waste Connections priced C$700 million of senior notes, including 4.200% notes due 2033 and additional notes due 2036. The financing provides capital for corporate purposes but increases interest obligations and leverage considerations. Waste Connections Announces Pricing of C$700 Million of Senior Notes
• Negative Sentiment: Analysts noted that WCN’s strong second-quarter earnings beat, higher 2026 revenue outlook and improved cash flow may already be reflected in its premium valuation. Debt levels and a high earnings multiple could limit additional upside, helping explain the muted reaction following the results. Is WCN Stock Worth Its Premium Valuation After Strong Q2 Results?

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Eric Hansen sold 6,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, April 30th. The shares were sold at an average price of $164.82, for a total value of $988,920.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president owned 13,350 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,200,347. The trade was a 31.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, COO Jason Craft sold 1,500 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, June 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $156.59, for a total transaction of $234,885.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief operating officer directly owned 32,861 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $5,145,703.99. The trade was a 4.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 15,000 shares of company stock valued at $2,395,755. 0.27% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Waste Connections Trading Down 0.1%

Shares of WCN opened at $169.12 on Wednesday. The firm’s 50-day moving average is $161.80 and its two-hundred day moving average is $163.18. The firm has a market capitalization of $42.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 40.75, a PEG ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.49. Waste Connections, Inc. has a twelve month low of $146.89 and a twelve month high of $191.91. The company has a current ratio of 0.66, a quick ratio of 0.66 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.17.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its earnings results on Wednesday, July 22nd. The business services provider reported $1.50 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.15. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 17.31% and a net margin of 10.86%.The company had revenue of $2.56 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.29 earnings per share. Waste Connections’s revenue was up 6.4% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.61 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, August 20th. Investors of record on Thursday, August 6th will be paid a dividend of $0.35 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, August 6th. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.8%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 33.73%.

About Waste Connections

Waste Connections (NYSE: WCN) is a North American integrated waste services company that provides a range of solid waste and environmental services to municipal, commercial, industrial and residential customers. The company offers collection, transportation, transfer, disposal and recycling services, and operates an extensive network of transfer stations and disposal facilities. Waste Connections positions itself as a provider of infrastructure-driven waste solutions across many regions of the United States and Canada.

The company’s operating activities include routine curbside and commercial collection, roll-off and container services, operation of landfills and transfer stations, and recycling and resource recovery programs.