Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) Receives Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) has received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two brokerages that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat.com reports. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $243.2632.

RSG has been the subject of a number of analyst reports. Royal Bank Of Canada upped their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $265.00 to $267.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, May 8th. UBS Group reduced their price target on Republic Services from $240.00 to $223.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, May 12th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce restated an “outperform” rating and set a $249.00 price objective on shares of Republic Services in a report on Friday, May 8th. Barclays upped their target price on Republic Services from $227.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Monday, May 11th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Republic Services from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th.

Republic Services Stock Down 0.9%

NYSE RSG opened at $220.47 on Thursday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.67, a current ratio of 0.67 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11. Republic Services has a fifty-two week low of $196.41 and a fifty-two week high of $246.25. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $208.63 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $214.33. The stock has a market cap of $67.83 billion, a PE ratio of 31.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.66 and a beta of 0.40.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Friday, May 8th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.64 by $0.06. The company had revenue of $4.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.10 billion. Republic Services had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 18.57%. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.58 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Republic Services will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.625 per share. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.1%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.87%.

Insider Activity

In other news, Director Sandra M. Volpe sold 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.28, for a total value of $380,304.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 58 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,254.24. The trade was a 96.88% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, major shareholder Cascade Investment, L.L.C. purchased 60,700 shares of Republic Services stock in a transaction dated Monday, May 18th. The shares were bought at an average cost of $213.31 per share, for a total transaction of $12,947,917.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 110,803,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $23,635,597,400.42. The trade was a 0.05% increase in their position. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders bought a total of 987,150 shares of company stock valued at $202,366,682 in the last three months. Insiders own 0.12% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Republic Services

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RSG. Wealth Watch Advisors INC bought a new position in Republic Services during the third quarter worth $26,000. Laurel Wealth Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Republic Services during the fourth quarter valued at $25,000. Ameriflex Group Inc. acquired a new stake in shares of Republic Services during the third quarter worth $29,000. Prosperity Bancshares Inc bought a new stake in shares of Republic Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $30,000. Finally, Sound Income Strategies LLC acquired a new stake in Republic Services during the fourth quarter worth about $32,000. 57.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Republic Services Company Profile

Republic Services, Inc is a leading provider of non-hazardous solid waste and recycling services in the United States. The company offers a broad range of waste management solutions to residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers, positioning itself as a full-service partner for everyday waste collection as well as specialized disposal needs.

Republic’s core operations include curbside and commercial collection, transfer and hauling, materials recovery and recycling facilities, and landfill disposal.