New York State Common Retirement Fund Acquires 1,074 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

New York State Common Retirement Fund lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 0.6% in the 4th quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The institutional investor owned 186,314 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 1,074 shares during the period. New York State Common Retirement Fund owned approximately 0.07% of Waste Connections worth $31,968,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Other hedge funds and other institutional investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. Manchester Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth about $26,000. Stonebridge Financial Group LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth about $27,000. Global Trust Asset Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the third quarter worth about $36,000. Sierra Ocean LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the fourth quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, FSA Wealth Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the third quarter worth about $40,000. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

Shares of WCN stock opened at $187.71 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 78.54, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a current ratio of 0.65, a quick ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $179.58 and its 200 day moving average is $181.91. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12 month low of $160.34 and a 12 month high of $194.83.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 EPS 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%. On average, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.29 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

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

Analyst Ratings Changes

WCN has been the subject of a number of recent analyst reports. Citigroup upped their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Connections from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Truist Financial reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $210.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Oppenheimer boosted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $192.00 to $195.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, December 13th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group dropped 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. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Connections presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $201.00.

About Waste Connections

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.