National Pension Service Boosts Stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

National Pension Service lifted its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 3.0% during the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 584,627 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 17,174 shares during the period. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.23% of Waste Connections worth $100,310,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other institutional investors also recently bought and sold shares of the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Sierra Ocean LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Waste Connections during the third quarter worth about $40,000. Finally, Continuum Advisory LLC raised its stake in Waste Connections by 58.0% during the third quarter. Continuum Advisory LLC now owns 226 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after purchasing an additional 83 shares during the period. 86.09% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Waste Connections Trading Down 0.5 %

Shares of WCN stock opened at $188.08 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a current ratio of 0.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.54 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.69, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $180.46 and a 200 day moving average price of $182.19. Waste Connections, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $160.34 and a fifty-two week high of $194.83.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.20 by ($0.04). Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 15.54%. Equities research analysts predict that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, February 27th will be issued a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 52.72%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have commented on WCN shares. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 30th. Morgan Stanley lifted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. CIBC dropped their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $215.00 to $212.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, December 19th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and set a $210.00 price target (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, December 13th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.00.

Waste Connections 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.