Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Rating Lowered to Buy at StockNews.com

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) was downgraded by analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Sunday.

A number of other analysts have also issued reports on the company. CIBC increased their target price on Waste Management from $213.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Tuesday, November 5th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Truist Financial boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $228.94.

Waste Management Trading Down 1.4 %

Shares of NYSE:WM opened at $225.13 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $90.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.42, a PEG ratio of 2.40 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Management has a 1-year low of $171.15 and a 1-year high of $230.39. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $215.17 and a 200 day moving average price of $210.71. 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 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The business had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.51 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.63 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, research analysts anticipate that Waste Management will post 7.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. This represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of WM. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Mather Group LLC. grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 92.3% during the second quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 1,825 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $389,000 after purchasing an additional 876 shares during the last quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 8.1% in the second quarter. Kingswood Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 12,251 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,614,000 after purchasing an additional 915 shares in the last quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. raised its position in Waste Management by 63.7% in the 2nd quarter. Astoria Portfolio Advisors LLC. now owns 1,779 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $380,000 after purchasing an additional 692 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Park Avenue Securities LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 3.4% in the 2nd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 4,629 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $988,000 after buying an additional 151 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Waste Management

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.