Public Sector Pension Investment Board Acquires 32,184 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Public Sector Pension Investment Board raised its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 128.5% in the third quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The firm owned 57,228 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 32,184 shares during the period. Public Sector Pension Investment Board’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $10,063,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Other hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the company. CIBC Asset Management Inc boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 55.7% in the 3rd quarter. CIBC Asset Management Inc now owns 1,991,112 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $350,603,000 after buying an additional 711,990 shares during the last quarter. Fisher Funds Management LTD raised its position in Waste Connections by 51.2% during the third quarter. Fisher Funds Management LTD now owns 88,336 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $15,529,000 after acquiring an additional 29,925 shares in the last quarter. National Pension Service lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 2.3% in the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 385,446 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $67,761,000 after acquiring an additional 8,725 shares during the last quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 770.4% in the third quarter. Thrivent Financial for Lutherans now owns 57,519 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $10,112,000 after acquiring an additional 50,911 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,798,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Trading Up 1.8%

Shares of NYSE:WCN opened at $160.41 on Tuesday. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12-month low of $155.65 and a 12-month high of $201.66. The business has a 50 day moving average of $170.55 and a 200-day moving average of $174.25. The company has a quick ratio of 0.62, a current ratio of 0.62 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market cap of $41.01 billion, a PE ratio of 38.47, a P/E/G ratio of 2.84 and a beta of 0.62.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $1.29 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. The company had revenue of $2.35 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.37 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 16.25% and a net margin of 11.37%.The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 5.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.16 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be given a $0.35 dividend. This represents a $1.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.9%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, February 25th. Waste Connections’s payout ratio is presently 33.57%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WCN has been the topic of a number of research analyst reports. Morgan Stanley set a $205.00 target price on shares of Waste Connections and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Friday. The Goldman Sachs Group began coverage on Waste Connections in a research report on Monday, November 24th. They set a “buy” rating and a $202.00 price target on the stock. BNP Paribas Exane assumed coverage on Waste Connections in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. They issued an “outperform” rating for the company. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their target price on Waste Connections from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Wednesday, January 14th. Finally, Scotiabank set a $197.00 target price on Waste Connections and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Friday. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and four have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $204.20.

Waste Connections Company Profile

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.