Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Hits New 1-Year Low After Earnings Miss

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM)’s share price hit a new 52-week low during trading on Tuesday after the company announced weaker than expected quarterly earnings. The company traded as low as $197.25 and last traded at $206.7560, with a volume of 750523 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $213.77.

The business services provider reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.01 by ($0.03). The company had revenue of $6.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.51 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 33.77% and a net margin of 10.35%.The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.96 EPS. Waste Management has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th were paid a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 12th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 48.96%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several research analysts have recently commented on WM shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Scotiabank lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Thursday, September 11th. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Tuesday, July 29th. Finally, Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $272.00 to $271.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, October 9th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $253.00.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in WM. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.8% during the second quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 37,662,207 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,617,866,000 after buying an additional 292,868 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC increased its holdings in Waste Management by 1.5% in the 2nd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,647,146 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,972,856,000 after purchasing an additional 126,329 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its position in Waste Management by 1.4% in the second quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,390,971 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,232,131,000 after purchasing an additional 74,528 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the second quarter valued at about $1,064,206,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 1.8% during the first quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 4,067,680 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $941,709,000 after purchasing an additional 70,907 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Price Performance

The company has a 50 day moving average price of $219.19 and a 200-day moving average price of $226.95. The company has a market cap of $82.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.14, a P/E/G ratio of 2.63 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a quick ratio of 0.82, a current ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51.

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.