Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) was upgraded by investment analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report issued on Thursday, The Fly reports.
RSG has been the topic of several other research reports. Zacks Investment Research lowered Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “sell” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Republic Services in a research note on Thursday, September 7th. BMO Capital Markets reaffirmed a “buy” rating and set a $72.00 price target on shares of Republic Services in a research note on Friday, October 13th. Credit Suisse Group cut their price target on Republic Services from $69.00 to $67.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, November 6th. Finally, Bank of America cut their target price on Republic Services from $72.00 to $70.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 5th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, five have issued a hold rating and four have assigned a buy rating to the company. The stock presently has an average rating of “Hold” and a consensus price target of $67.71.
Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) opened at $66.90 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.93, a current ratio of 0.54 and a quick ratio of 0.51. The company has a market capitalization of $22,252.67, a price-to-earnings ratio of 28.35, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.05 and a beta of 0.60. Republic Services has a one year low of $56.17 and a one year high of $68.00.
Republic Services announced that its Board of Directors has initiated a stock repurchase program on Thursday, November 2nd that allows the company to repurchase $2.00 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to purchase shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase programs are typically a sign that the company’s board of directors believes its shares are undervalued.
In other Republic Services news, insider Donald W. Slager sold 32,421 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.00, for a total value of $2,074,944.00. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Donald W. Slager sold 98,132 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 29th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.19, for a total value of $6,299,093.08. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 322,541 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $20,703,906.79. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.40% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.
Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of RSG. BlackRock Inc. grew its stake in Republic Services by 6.4% in the second quarter. BlackRock Inc. now owns 20,282,248 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,292,589,000 after purchasing an additional 1,223,613 shares in the last quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. lifted its position in shares of Republic Services by 2.2% in the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 19,214,975 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,224,571,000 after buying an additional 418,797 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its position in shares of Republic Services by 4.5% in the first quarter. State Street Corp now owns 11,649,668 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $731,866,000 after buying an additional 501,491 shares during the last quarter. American Century Companies Inc. lifted its position in shares of Republic Services by 4.2% in the first quarter. American Century Companies Inc. now owns 8,915,076 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $559,956,000 after buying an additional 356,424 shares during the last quarter. Finally, BlackRock Institutional Trust Company N.A. lifted its position in shares of Republic Services by 5.9% in the first quarter. BlackRock Institutional Trust Company N.A. now owns 7,310,027 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $348,323,000 after buying an additional 408,045 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 59.90% of the company’s stock.
Republic Services Company Profile
Republic Services, Inc is a provider of non-hazardous solid waste collection, transfer, disposal, recycling and energy services. The Company’s segments include Group 1, Group 2 and Corporate entities. Its Group 1 and Group 2 segments provide integrated waste management services. Group 1 consists of geographic areas located in the western and portions of the mid-western United States.
