Arizona State Retirement System Purchases 1,959 Shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Arizona State Retirement System boosted its holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 2.7% during the first quarter, according to its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The fund owned 75,734 shares of the business services provider's stock after acquiring an additional 1,959 shares during the period. Arizona State Retirement System's holdings in Waste Connections were worth $14,783,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other large investors have also modified their holdings of the company. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd acquired a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 4th quarter valued at $28,000. Global Financial Private Client LLC lifted its position in Waste Connections by 890.0% during the 1st quarter. Global Financial Private Client LLC now owns 198 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $39,000 after acquiring an additional 178 shares during the last quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 232.3% in the first quarter. Valley National Advisers Inc. now owns 216 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $41,000 after acquiring an additional 151 shares during the period. Oarsman Capital Inc. raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 41.4% in the 4th quarter. Oarsman Capital Inc. now owns 222 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $38,000 after acquiring an additional 65 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Louisbourg Investments Inc. boosted its position in shares of Waste Connections by 128.6% during the 1st quarter. Louisbourg Investments Inc. now owns 240 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $47,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 86.09% of the company's stock.

Waste Connections Stock Performance

NYSE WCN traded up $1.11 during trading hours on Monday, reaching $184.49. 1,333,695 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,022,529. The business's 50 day simple moving average is $189.72 and its 200-day simple moving average is $187.90. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 1 year low of $169.36 and a 1 year high of $201.66. The stock has a market capitalization of $47.67 billion, a P/E ratio of 75.92, a P/E/G ratio of 3.19 and a beta of 0.60. The company has a quick ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 0.70 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, April 23rd. The business services provider reported $1.13 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.07 by $0.06. Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.93% and a return on equity of 15.74%. The firm had revenue of $2.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $2.22 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.04 earnings per share. The business's quarterly revenue was up 7.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts expect that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 earnings per share for the current year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, May 22nd. Investors of record on Wednesday, May 7th were paid a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.68%. The ex-dividend date was Wednesday, May 7th. Waste Connections's payout ratio is 51.85%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several brokerages have weighed in on WCN. Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed an "outperform" rating and set a $221.00 price objective on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Melius initiated coverage on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Monday, June 9th. They issued a "buy" rating for the company. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $216.00 to $218.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 9th. William Blair started coverage on Waste Connections in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. They issued an "outperform" rating on the stock. Finally, Seaport Res Ptn raised shares of Waste Connections to a "strong-buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 6th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and four have given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Buy" and a consensus target price of $213.93.

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.