Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Stifel Nicolaus Analyst Says

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its price objective hoisted by equities researchers at Stifel Nicolaus from $236.00 to $252.00 in a note issued to investors on Friday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ target price would suggest a potential upside of 13.43% from the company’s current price.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. UBS Group upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “neutral” rating to a “buy” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $225.00 to $260.00 in a research report on Friday, January 9th. CIBC lowered their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $231.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. DZ Bank initiated coverage on Waste Management in a report on Tuesday, November 25th. They set a “buy” rating and a $250.00 price objective on the stock. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their target price on Waste Management from $255.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, January 5th. Finally, Weiss Ratings restated a “hold (c+)” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Monday, December 29th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fifteen have assigned a Buy rating and nine have given a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $253.55.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $222.17 on Friday. The firm has a fifty day moving average of $219.25 and a two-hundred day moving average of $219.22. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.80 and a current ratio of 0.89. The stock has a market capitalization of $89.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.16, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.59. Waste Management has a 52 week low of $194.11 and a 52 week high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 28th. The business services provider reported $1.93 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.95 by ($0.02). Waste Management had a return on equity of 32.45% and a net margin of 10.74%.The company had revenue of $6.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.39 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.70 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.1% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Waste Management will post 7.7 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 1,380 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, November 20th. The stock was sold at an average price of $217.06, for a total transaction of $299,542.80. Following the sale, the senior vice president owned 15,540 shares in the company, valued at $3,373,112.40. This represents a 8.16% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of WM. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its stake in Waste Management by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,990,067 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,566,508,000 after acquiring an additional 553,605 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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 valued at $1,972,856,000 after purchasing an additional 126,329 shares in the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. increased its stake in shares of Waste Management by 5.1% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 5,668,221 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,250,613,000 after purchasing an additional 277,250 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 2nd quarter worth $1,064,206,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 0.3% during the 3rd quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,954,519 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $873,276,000 after buying an additional 11,688 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Key Stories Impacting Waste Management

Here are the key news stories impacting Waste Management this week:

• Positive Sentiment: Multiple broker upgrades/price-target raises signal analyst confidence and create upside expectations — notable lifts include TD Cowen raising its target to $270 (Buy), Oppenheimer to $264 (Outperform), Wells Fargo to $250 (Overweight), Stifel to $252 (Buy) and RBC to $235 (Sector Perform). These raises help underpin demand and longer-term upside.
• Positive Sentiment: MarketBeat piece argues WM is in a trend-following rally, supported by widening margins, accelerating free cash flow and a resumed buyback plan — factors that can sustain share-price appreciation. Waste Management’s “Boring” Business Is Powering a Quiet Rally
• Positive Sentiment: Dividend and buyback tailwinds: WM raised its dividend and signaled intent to resume repurchases (guidance assumes ~$2B in buybacks), improving shareholder-return prospects and offsetting share-based dilution over time. (Referenced in MarketBeat coverage.)
• Neutral Sentiment: Industry report notes long-term demand in specialized waste markets (solid control drilling waste mgmt. forecast to 2035) — a potential structural tailwind but only indirectly tied to WM’s near-term earnings. Solid Control Drilling Waste Management Market Size
• Neutral Sentiment: Full Q4 earnings call transcript is available for investors wanting detail on segment performance and management commentary; useful for parsing how sustainable margin and cash-flow commentary is. Q4 2025 Earnings Call Transcript
• Negative Sentiment: Q4 results missed expectations on both EPS ($1.93 vs. ~$1.95 est.) and revenue (came up short of estimates). The miss pressured the stock as it undercut near-term growth/beat expectations that had supported the rally. Waste Management Stock Falls After Disappointing Q4 Results
• Negative Sentiment: Guidance was slightly below Street expectations (revenue/growth assumptions modest), leaving room for disappointment if execution slips — this is the primary catalyst for short-term downside risk.

About Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.