Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) Stake Increased by National Pension Service

National Pension Service lifted its stake in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 15.3% during the third quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 567,453 shares of the business services provider’s stock after acquiring an additional 75,119 shares during the quarter. National Pension Service owned approximately 0.22% of Waste Connections worth $101,472,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of the stock. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its position in Waste Connections by 3.0% during the first quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 4,005 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $689,000 after buying an additional 118 shares during the last quarter. Whittier Trust Co. increased its position in Waste Connections by 41.8% during the first quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 2,186 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $376,000 after buying an additional 644 shares during the last quarter. Central Pacific Bank Trust Division acquired a new position in Waste Connections during the first quarter worth $147,000. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S increased its position in Waste Connections by 27.3% during the first quarter. BI Asset Management Fondsmaeglerselskab A S now owns 3,433 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $591,000 after buying an additional 737 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mediolanum International Funds Ltd acquired a new position in Waste Connections during the first quarter worth $2,986,000. 86.09% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

NYSE WCN opened at $177.64 on Tuesday. The firm has a market cap of $45.84 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 48.80, a PEG ratio of 2.95 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50 day moving average of $181.14 and a 200-day moving average of $175.73. The company has a current ratio of 0.77, a quick ratio of 0.77 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $129.31 and a 1-year high of $187.54.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.35 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.30 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $2.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $2.30 billion. Waste Connections had a net margin of 10.81% and a return on equity of 15.43%. The company’s revenue was up 13.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $1.17 earnings per share. On average, equities analysts forecast that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 4.84 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, November 14th. Investors of record on Thursday, November 7th will be issued a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, November 7th. This represents a $1.26 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.71%. This is a positive change from Waste Connections’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.29. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 31.32%.

Insider Activity at Waste Connections

In other Waste Connections news, SVP Robert Nielsen III sold 1,000 shares of Waste Connections stock in a transaction on Wednesday, August 7th. The shares were sold at an average price of $180.15, for a total transaction of $180,150.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now owns 4,321 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $778,428.15. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.31% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Analyst Ratings Changes

WCN has been the topic of several analyst reports. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $191.00 to $194.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Monday, October 21st. Truist Financial increased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $180.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. TD Cowen increased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $185.00 to $200.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $198.00 to $196.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reiterated a “buy” rating and issued a $205.00 target price (up previously from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, October 25th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Connections currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $195.56.

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.