Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Receives Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) have been given an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the twenty-two research firms that are covering the stock, Marketbeat.com reports. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $226.05.

Several research analysts recently commented on WM shares. William Blair started coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Argus lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. BMO Capital Markets lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird decreased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $224.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WM. Norden Group LLC bought a new position in Waste Management in the 1st quarter worth about $418,000. Mutual Advisors LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 5.5% in the 1st quarter. Mutual Advisors LLC now owns 10,733 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,288,000 after buying an additional 556 shares during the last quarter. C2P Capital Advisory Group LLC d.b.a. Prosperity Capital Advisors purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 1st quarter worth about $347,000. Larson Financial Group LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 4.4% in the 1st quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,228 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $262,000 after buying an additional 52 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 3.8% in the 1st quarter. Avidian Wealth Solutions LLC now owns 3,547 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $756,000 after buying an additional 131 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.1 %

WM stock opened at $214.24 on Tuesday. The company has a market capitalization of $85.99 billion, a PE ratio of 32.76, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Management has a one year low of $167.78 and a one year high of $225.00. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $209.44 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $208.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The company had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts predict that Waste Management will post 7.3 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 27th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 13th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.40%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 13th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.87%.

Waste Management Company Profile

Waste Management, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of environmental solutions to residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services, including picking up and transporting waste and recyclable materials from where it was generated to a transfer station, material recovery facility (MRF), or disposal site; and owns and operates transfer stations, as well as owns, develops, and operates landfill facilities that produce landfill gas used as renewable natural gas for generating electricity.