Republic Services’ (RSG) Outperform Rating Reiterated at BMO Capital Markets

BMO Capital Markets reiterated their outperform rating on shares of Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) in a research report sent to investors on Monday morning, Marketbeat Ratings reports. The firm currently has a $280.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $268.00.

A number of other brokerages have also recently commented on RSG. Royal Bank of Canada reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $266.00 price target on shares of Republic Services in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Seaport Res Ptn raised Republic Services to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, May 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Republic Services from $230.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 25th. Scotiabank increased their target price on Republic Services from $233.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 8th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Republic Services from $265.00 to $278.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, April 29th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $252.68.

Republic Services Stock Performance

Shares of RSG stock opened at $248.14 on Monday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The stock has a market cap of $77.54 billion, a PE ratio of 38.23, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.63. The stock has a 50-day moving average of $246.67 and a 200-day moving average of $229.50. Republic Services has a one year low of $185.07 and a one year high of $258.75.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 24th. The business services provider reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.53 by $0.05. The company had revenue of $4.01 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.08 billion. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 12.74%. Republic Services’s revenue was up 3.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $1.45 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Republic Services will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, July 2nd will be issued a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.93%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, July 2nd. Republic Services’s payout ratio is presently 34.99%.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Republic Services

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. DnB Asset Management AS boosted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 65.1% in the 4th quarter. DnB Asset Management AS now owns 72,931 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $14,672,000 after buying an additional 28,764 shares during the last quarter. Hickory Point Bank & Trust acquired a new stake in shares of Republic Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $790,000. Uniting Wealth Partners LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Republic Services in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $266,000. BNP Paribas Financial Markets boosted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 3.4% in the 4th quarter. BNP Paribas Financial Markets now owns 435,835 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $87,681,000 after buying an additional 14,273 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service boosted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 3.5% in the 4th quarter. National Pension Service now owns 329,757 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $66,341,000 after buying an additional 11,128 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Republic Services Company Profile

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.