Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund Has $10.26 Million Position in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund grew its stake in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN) by 11.2% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The fund owned 59,800 shares of the business services provider’s stock after buying an additional 6,000 shares during the period. Fjarde AP Fonden Fourth Swedish National Pension Fund’s holdings in Waste Connections were worth $10,261,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also bought and sold shares of the company. Versor Investments LP grew its position in shares of Waste Connections by 75.1% in the 3rd quarter. Versor Investments LP now owns 8,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,470,000 after purchasing an additional 3,527 shares during the period. Blueshift Asset Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Connections in the 3rd quarter valued at about $552,000. Dynamic Technology Lab Private Ltd acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Connections in the third quarter valued at about $2,503,000. Barclays PLC raised its holdings in Waste Connections by 34.3% during the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 303,040 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $54,190,000 after acquiring an additional 77,466 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. boosted its position in Waste Connections by 65.6% during the third quarter. Mesirow Financial Investment Management Inc. now owns 3,034 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $543,000 after purchasing an additional 1,202 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

WCN has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Waste Connections from $225.00 to $210.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, January 30th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Waste Connections from $195.00 to $196.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Monday, January 13th. Morgan Stanley boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, StockNews.com downgraded shares of Waste Connections from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $201.00.

Waste Connections Stock Down 0.2 %

WCN stock opened at $187.41 on Monday. The business’s fifty day moving average price is $179.73 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $182.03. The stock has a market capitalization of $48.37 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 78.41, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.77. Waste Connections, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $160.34 and a fifty-two week high of $194.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 0.65 and a quick ratio of 0.65.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN) last released 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 return on equity of 15.54% and a net margin of 6.92%. On average, equities 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 declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th will be paid a $0.315 dividend. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.67%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 52.72%.

Waste Connections Company 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.