Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Research Coverage Started at Stifel Nicolaus

Stifel Nicolaus started coverage on shares of Waste Management (NYSE:WM) in a research report report published on Tuesday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. The firm issued a buy rating and a $252.00 target price on the business services provider’s stock.

Other analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Melius began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Monday, June 9th. They issued a “buy” rating on the stock. Melius Research upgraded shares of Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating and set a $263.00 price objective on the stock in a report on Monday, June 9th. Raymond James Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday, July 22nd. Barclays began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, September 19th. They issued an “overweight” rating and a $272.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Erste Group Bank cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and nine have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $255.17.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $216.77 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.86. The company has a market capitalization of $87.32 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.16, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.69 and a beta of 0.64. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $224.49 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $228.30. Waste Management has a 52 week low of $199.69 and a 52 week high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.03. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.36% and a return on equity of 34.37%. The company had revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.82 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. Waste Management has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, analysts expect that Waste Management will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th were given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.5%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 12th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 48.96%.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Trust Co of the South boosted its position in Waste Management by 18.3% during the third quarter. Trust Co of the South now owns 2,148 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $474,000 after purchasing an additional 333 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates boosted its position in Waste Management by 191.2% during the third quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 364 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $80,000 after purchasing an additional 239 shares during the period. Park National Corp OH boosted its position in Waste Management by 3.4% during the third quarter. Park National Corp OH now owns 206,604 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $45,624,000 after purchasing an additional 6,720 shares during the period. Rydar Equities Inc. bought a new position in Waste Management during the second quarter worth $2,516,000. Finally, Corient Private Wealth LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 76.6% during the second quarter. Corient Private Wealth LLC now owns 441,435 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $101,009,000 after purchasing an additional 191,447 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of environmental solutions to residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services, including picking up and transporting waste and recyclable materials from where it was generated to a transfer station, material recovery facility (MRF), or disposal site; and owns and operates transfer stations, as well as owns, develops, and operates landfill facilities that produce landfill gas used as renewable natural gas for generating electricity.