Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Now Covered by Stifel Nicolaus

Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management (NYSE:WM) in a research report released on Tuesday morning, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage issued a buy rating and a $252.00 price objective on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other analysts have also recently weighed in on WM. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Melius assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Monday, June 9th. They set a “buy” rating for the company. Citigroup lowered their target price on shares of Waste Management from $275.00 to $268.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, September 16th. Oppenheimer lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $260.00 to $265.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 31st. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $255.17.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $220.85 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $224.93 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $228.43. 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 stock has a market cap of $88.97 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.77, a PEG ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 0.64. Waste Management has a fifty-two week low of $199.69 and a fifty-two 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 for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.03. The business had revenue of $6.43 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.37 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 34.37% and a net margin of 11.36%.The business’s revenue was up 19.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.82 EPS. Waste Management has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Waste Management will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Westend Capital Management LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 126.9% in the 1st quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 69.0% in the 1st quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 120 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 49 shares during the period. Saudi Central Bank bought a new stake in Waste Management in the 1st quarter worth approximately $37,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. bought a new stake in Waste Management in the 1st quarter worth approximately $38,000. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P bought a new stake in Waste Management in the 2nd quarter worth approximately $40,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.