State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D Increases Position in Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D lifted its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 4.1% during the 3rd quarter, according to the company in its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 87,405 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 3,454 shares during the period. State of New Jersey Common Pension Fund D’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $15,366,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. Lido Advisors LLC grew its stake in Waste Connections by 2.1% during the 2nd quarter. Lido Advisors LLC now owns 2,949 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $551,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the last quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 0.8% during the third quarter. Legacy Wealth Asset Management LLC now owns 7,895 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,388,000 after purchasing an additional 61 shares during the period. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC boosted its position in Waste Connections by 1.6% in the second quarter. Valeo Financial Advisors LLC now owns 4,052 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $757,000 after buying an additional 63 shares during the last quarter. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Parr Mcknight Wealth Management Group LLC now owns 6,853 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,280,000 after buying an additional 72 shares during the period. Finally, Atria Investments Inc raised its position in Waste Connections by 1.0% during the 2nd quarter. Atria Investments Inc now owns 8,016 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,497,000 after buying an additional 81 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

NYSE:WCN opened at $160.41 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.62 and a current ratio of 0.62. The stock has a market capitalization 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, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $155.65 and a fifty-two week high of $201.66. The company has a fifty day moving average of $170.55 and a two-hundred day moving average of $174.25.

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

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

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

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WCN has been the topic of several recent research reports. Barclays set a $176.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $220.00 to $210.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday, January 14th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft set a $212.00 price target on Waste Connections in a research report on Friday. Oppenheimer reissued an “outperform” rating and issued a $205.00 price objective (down previously from $206.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a report on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company started coverage on Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, November 13th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $186.00 target price on the stock. Four analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and four have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Buy” and an average 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.