UBS Group Upgrades Waste Management (NYSE:WM) to “Buy”

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) was upgraded by UBS Group from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating in a report released on Friday, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $260.00 target price on the business services provider’s stock, up from their previous target price of $225.00. UBS Group’s target price suggests a potential upside of 17.67% from the stock’s current price.

Several other equities research analysts have also issued reports on the stock. Scotiabank lowered their target price on shares of Waste Management from $264.00 to $254.00 and set a “sector outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. CIBC lowered their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $231.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday, October 29th. National Bankshares cut their price objective on Waste Management from $250.00 to $243.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Erste Group Bank downgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group started coverage on Waste Management in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $256.00 price objective for the company. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eighteen have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $250.77.

Waste Management Stock Up 1.4%

Waste Management stock opened at $220.96 on Friday. Waste Management has a 52 week low of $194.11 and a 52 week high of $242.58. The firm has a market cap of $89.02 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.80, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.47 and a beta of 0.59. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $213.84 and its 200 day moving average price is $219.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.80, a current ratio of 0.84 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.98 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.03). Waste Management had a return on equity of 33.00% and a net margin of 10.35%.The company had revenue of $6.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.51 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $1.96 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, November 20th. The shares were sold at an average price of $217.06, for a total value of $299,542.80. Following the transaction, the senior vice president owned 15,540 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,373,112.40. This represents a 8.16% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,384,000 after acquiring an additional 2,320 shares in the last quarter. Sprott Inc. acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the 1st quarter valued at about $325,000. Empowered Funds LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 82.9% in the 1st quarter. Empowered Funds LLC now owns 22,670 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,248,000 after buying an additional 10,272 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 7.8% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,492 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $577,000 after buying an additional 181 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strs Ohio purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the first quarter worth approximately $37,585,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Company Profile

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.