Vestcor Inc Buys 3,991 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. $WCN

Vestcor Inc increased its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 7.0% in the third quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 60,609 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,991 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $10,655,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. WINTON GROUP Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Connections during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $4,553,000. PFG Advisors raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 10.4% in the 3rd quarter. PFG Advisors now owns 30,479 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $5,358,000 after purchasing an additional 2,860 shares during the period. Altman Advisors Inc. lifted its stake in Waste Connections by 1.1% in the third quarter. Altman Advisors Inc. now owns 11,539 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,029,000 after purchasing an additional 127 shares during the last quarter. Rathbones Group PLC grew its holdings in Waste Connections by 2.4% during the third quarter. Rathbones Group PLC now owns 661,576 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $116,305,000 after purchasing an additional 15,749 shares during the period. Finally, Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd bought a new position in Waste Connections during the third quarter valued at $1,911,000. 86.09% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

WCN has been the topic of several research reports. Citigroup restated a “neutral” rating and issued a $183.00 target price (down from $196.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, January 16th. BNP Paribas Exane started coverage on Waste Connections in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce set a $208.00 price objective on Waste Connections in a report on Thursday, January 8th. UBS Group set a $205.00 price objective on Waste Connections in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus set a $213.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, February 13th. Four research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have given a Buy rating and four have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Buy” and an average price target of $203.75.

Waste Connections Trading Down 0.3%

Shares of WCN stock opened at $170.25 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $43.53 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 40.83, a PEG ratio of 2.92 and a beta of 0.62. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $168.53 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $172.35. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $155.65 and a 1 year high of $201.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.62 and a quick ratio of 0.62.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 11th. The business services provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.28 by $0.01. The firm had revenue of $2.35 billion during 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 business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.16 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Dividend Announcement

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 12th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, February 25th will be paid a $0.35 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, February 25th. This represents a $1.40 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.8%. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 33.57%.

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.