Davis Capital Management Buys New Shares in Republic Services, Inc. $RSG

Davis Capital Management purchased a new position in Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) during the 3rd quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the SEC. The firm purchased 9,761 shares of the business services provider’s stock, valued at approximately $2,240,000. Republic Services comprises 1.6% of Davis Capital Management’s investment portfolio, making the stock its 15th largest position.

A number of other large investors have also made changes to their positions in the stock. Ignite Planners LLC increased its stake in Republic Services by 2.8% during the second quarter. Ignite Planners LLC now owns 1,562 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $376,000 after acquiring an additional 43 shares during the period. L2 Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 5.0% during the 2nd quarter. L2 Asset Management LLC now owns 908 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $224,000 after purchasing an additional 43 shares in the last quarter. Gries Financial LLC increased its position in shares of Republic Services by 3.8% during the second quarter. Gries Financial LLC now owns 1,249 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $308,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. TD Private Client Wealth LLC lifted its position in Republic Services by 17.8% in the second quarter. TD Private Client Wealth LLC now owns 305 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $75,000 after purchasing an additional 46 shares during the period. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC boosted its stake in Republic Services by 0.7% during the second quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 7,232 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,783,000 after buying an additional 47 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Katharine Weymouth bought 478 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, December 9th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $209.46 per share, with a total value of $100,121.88. Following the completion of the purchase, the director owned 5,740 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,202,300.40. The trade was a 9.08% increase in their position. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.11% of the company’s stock.

Republic Services Stock Down 0.9%

Shares of RSG opened at $210.12 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $65.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 31.27, a PEG ratio of 3.43 and a beta of 0.55. Republic Services, Inc. has a one year low of $199.43 and a one year high of $258.75. The business’s 50 day simple moving average is $212.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $226.17. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.58.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Friday, October 31st. The business services provider reported $1.90 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.78 by $0.12. The firm had revenue of $4.21 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.25 billion. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.24% and a net margin of 12.77%.The business’s revenue was up 3.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.81 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Friday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.50 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.2%. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.20%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently issued reports on RSG shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $248.00 price objective on shares of Republic Services and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Bank of America dropped their price target on shares of Republic Services from $271.00 to $241.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, December 22nd. Oppenheimer set a $256.00 price objective on Republic Services in a report on Friday, October 31st. Scotiabank dropped their target price on Republic Services from $250.00 to $246.00 and set a “sector perform” rating for the company in a report on Friday, October 31st. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group initiated coverage on Republic Services in a research note on Monday, November 24th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $255.00 price target on the stock. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have assigned a Buy rating and eleven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Republic Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $250.64.

Republic Services Profile

Republic Services, Inc is a leading provider of non-hazardous solid waste and recycling services in the United States. The company offers a broad range of waste management solutions to residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers, positioning itself as a full-service partner for everyday waste collection as well as specialized disposal needs.

Republic’s core operations include curbside and commercial collection, transfer and hauling, materials recovery and recycling facilities, and landfill disposal.