Teacher Retirement System of Texas Increases Holdings in Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN)

Teacher Retirement System of Texas raised its position in shares of Waste Connections, Inc. (NYSE:WCN - Free Report) by 72.7% during the fourth quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The institutional investor owned 158,962 shares of the business services provider's stock after purchasing an additional 66,895 shares during the period. Teacher Retirement System of Texas owned approximately 0.06% of Waste Connections worth $27,275,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds have also recently added to or reduced their stakes in WCN. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 307.1% during the 3rd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 1,927,155 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $344,615,000 after buying an additional 1,453,733 shares in the last quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC grew its position in Waste Connections by 0.5% during the third quarter. Pathstone Holdings LLC now owns 45,420 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $8,122,000 after acquiring an additional 213 shares during the last quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waste Connections by 0.6% during the third quarter. PNC Financial Services Group Inc. now owns 78,346 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $14,010,000 after acquiring an additional 482 shares in the last quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 1.7% in the 3rd quarter. Segall Bryant & Hamill LLC now owns 59,613 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $10,660,000 after acquiring an additional 1,006 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Jennison Associates LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Connections by 17.5% in the 3rd quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 14,184 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,536,000 after acquiring an additional 2,108 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 86.09% of the company's stock.

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Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research firms recently commented on WCN. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Waste Connections from $205.00 to $212.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Citigroup raised their price objective on 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 target price on Waste Connections from $214.00 to $219.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. StockNews.com cut Waste Connections from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Truist Financial reissued a "buy" rating and issued a $210.00 target price (up from $200.00) on shares of Waste Connections in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Four investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $202.43.

Waste Connections Stock Up 1.1 %

Shares of NYSE:WCN traded up $2.14 during trading on Tuesday, hitting $193.07. The stock had a trading volume of 891,754 shares, compared to its average volume of 883,565. The company has a quick ratio of 0.65, a current ratio of 0.65 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.03. Waste Connections, Inc. has a 12 month low of $160.34 and a 12 month high of $194.83. The company has a market capitalization of $49.83 billion, a PE ratio of 80.78, a PEG ratio of 3.07 and a beta of 0.81. The firm's fifty day moving average is $186.24 and its 200 day moving average is $182.72.

Waste Connections (NYSE:WCN - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.16 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.20 by ($0.04). Waste Connections had a net margin of 6.92% and a return on equity of 15.54%. Analysts anticipate that Waste Connections, Inc. will post 5.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Connections Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 13th. Investors of record on Thursday, February 27th were paid a dividend of $0.315 per share. This represents a $1.26 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.65%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, February 27th. Waste Connections's payout ratio is currently 52.72%.

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.