Short Interest in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) Decreases By 14.3%

Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) saw a significant drop in short interest during the month of February. As of February 15th, there was short interest totalling 1,980,000 shares, a drop of 14.3% from the January 31st total of 2,310,000 shares. Based on an average daily trading volume, of 1,020,000 shares, the days-to-cover ratio is currently 1.9 days. Approximately 1.0% of the company’s shares are sold short.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

RSG has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group increased their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $239.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. CIBC raised Republic Services from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $264.00 price target for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on shares of Republic Services from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $236.88.

Republic Services Stock Up 1.0 %

RSG traded up $2.28 on Friday, hitting $233.77. The company had a trading volume of 445,189 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,039,759. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.00 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.00, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.58. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $218.28 and a 200-day moving average price of $210.60. Republic Services has a 12-month low of $180.91 and a 12-month high of $240.95.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.74% and a return on equity of 18.28%. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.41 EPS. Analysts predict that Republic Services will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.20, for a total value of $1,436,062.60. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 10,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,376,931.20. This represents a 37.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC raised its position in shares of Republic Services by 1.3% in the 3rd quarter. Janney Montgomery Scott LLC now owns 55,581 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $11,163,000 after purchasing an additional 726 shares during the last quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. raised its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 7.5% in the third quarter. Robeco Institutional Asset Management B.V. now owns 417,756 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $83,902,000 after buying an additional 29,273 shares during the last quarter. Intact Investment Management Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Republic Services during the third quarter worth $72,000. National Pension Service grew its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 18.9% during the third quarter. National Pension Service now owns 318,629 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $63,993,000 after buying an additional 50,568 shares during the last quarter. Finally, QRG Capital Management Inc. increased its position in shares of Republic Services by 77.0% in the 3rd quarter. QRG Capital Management Inc. now owns 35,627 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,155,000 after acquiring an additional 15,503 shares during the period. 57.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Republic Services

Republic Services, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, offers environmental services in the United States and Canada. It is involved in the collection and processing of recyclable, solid waste, and industrial waste materials; transportation and disposal of non-hazardous and hazardous waste streams; and other environmental solutions.