Vestcor Inc Has $7.23 Million Stock Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Vestcor Inc increased its position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 41.2% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the SEC. The fund owned 37,052 shares of the business services provider's stock after buying an additional 10,814 shares during the period. Vestcor Inc's holdings in Waste Connections were worth $7,232,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

A number of other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in Waste Connections in the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. increased its holdings in Waste Connections by 122.0% in the first quarter. Ramirez Asset Management Inc. now owns 182 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. boosted its position in Waste Connections by 41.4% during the fourth quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 222 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 65 shares during the period. Larson Financial Group LLC boosted its position in Waste Connections by 994.4% during the first quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 197 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $38,000 after purchasing an additional 179 shares during the period. Finally, Global Financial Private Client LLC boosted its position in Waste Connections by 890.0% during the first quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 198 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $39,000 after purchasing an additional 178 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of brokerages have issued reports on WCN. Melius Research raised Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating and set a $213.00 target price for the company in a research report on Monday, June 9th. Raymond James Financial decreased their target price on Waste Connections from $224.00 to $211.00 and set a "strong-buy" rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, July 22nd. BMO Capital Markets upped their target price on Waste Connections from $214.00 to $216.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a research report on Friday, April 25th. Citigroup decreased their target price on Waste Connections from $208.00 to $204.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research report on Monday, July 28th. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, May 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and five have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of "Buy" and a consensus price target of $215.00.

Waste Connections Trading Down 0.0%

Shares of Waste Connections stock traded down $0.03 during trading on Friday, hitting $186.64. 1,129,567 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,365,086. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.23 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.26, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.36 and a beta of 0.58. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1-year low of $169.36 and a 1-year high of $201.66. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $187.34 and its 200 day moving average price is $188.99. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.00, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.29 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.25 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $2.41 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.39 billion. Waste Connections had a return on equity of 15.72% and a net margin of 6.97%. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.1% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.24 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect 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, August 21st. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, August 6th will be paid a $0.315 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, August 6th. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.7%. Waste Connections's payout ratio is presently 50.81%.

Waste Connections Profile

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.