Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Receives $256.74 Consensus Target Price from Brokerages

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and fifteen have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $256.7368.

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded Waste Management from a “hold” rating to an “outperformer” rating and set a $244.00 price target for the company in a report on Tuesday, July 7th. Robert W. Baird upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 16th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $264.00 to $263.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Waste Management from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.3%

WM opened at $238.09 on Thursday. Waste Management has a one year low of $194.11 and a one year high of $248.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a current ratio of 0.93 and a quick ratio of 0.89. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $224.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $227.26. The firm has a market capitalization of $95.61 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.46, a PEG ratio of 2.90 and a beta of 0.44.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. The business had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $1.67 earnings per share. Analysts predict that Waste Management will post 8.16 EPS for the current year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.945 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 54.70%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Brighton Jones LLC lifted its position 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 worth $1,384,000 after buying an additional 2,320 shares in the last quarter. Sprott Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the first quarter valued at $325,000. Sei Investments Co. lifted its position in Waste Management by 8.0% during the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 272,438 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $62,339,000 after purchasing an additional 20,122 shares during the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 68.2% in the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 366,416 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $83,843,000 after buying an additional 148,590 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Glenview Trust co grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 5.1% in the 2nd quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 3,338 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $764,000 after buying an additional 162 shares in the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.