JPMorgan Chase & Co. Upgrades Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) to Overweight

Key Points

• JPMorgan upgraded Republic Services to Overweight from Neutral and raised its price target to $295 from $265, implying about 19.2% upside from the prior close.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: 13 analysts rate the stock Buy and eight Hold, giving it a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average target of $250.89.
• Republic Services beat quarterly estimates, reporting $1.94 in earnings per share and $4.56 billion in revenue; revenue grew 8.2% year over year.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG - Get Free Report) was upgraded by stock analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating in a research report issued on Wednesday, FinViz reports. The firm currently has a $295.00 price objective on the business services provider's stock, up from their previous price objective of $265.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s target price suggests a potential upside of 19.23% from the company's previous close.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently weighed in on RSG. Wolfe Research started coverage on Republic Services in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Barclays upped their price objective on Republic Services from $240.00 to $254.00 and gave the stock an "equal weight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. UBS Group raised their price objective on Republic Services from $233.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Tuesday, August 11th. Morgan Stanley decreased their target price on Republic Services from $232.00 to $219.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 13th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Republic Services from $270.00 to $258.00 in a research note on Friday, October 9th. Thirteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have assigned a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $250.89.

Republic Services Stock Up 0.3%

Shares of NYSE RSG opened at $247.43 on Wednesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $75.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.22, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.32. The stock's fifty day moving average is $225.95 and its 200 day moving average is $218.01. Republic Services has a 52 week low of $196.41 and a 52 week high of $254.39. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14, a quick ratio of 0.75 and a current ratio of 0.75.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.93 by $0.01. The business had revenue of $4.56 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.42 billion. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.93% and a return on equity of 18.56%. Republic Services's revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $1.90 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts forecast that Republic Services will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Republic Services

In other news, major shareholder Cascade Investment, L.L.C. purchased 409,500 shares of the business's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were purchased at an average cost of $221.49 per share, with a total value of $90,700,155.00. Following the completion of the purchase, the insider owned 116,166,330 shares of the company's stock, valued at $25,729,680,431.70. This trade represents a 0.35% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this link. Over the last ninety days, insiders bought 5,578,298 shares of company stock valued at $1,234,519,081. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Republic Services

Several hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in shares of Republic Services during the second quarter valued at $3,798,092,000. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Republic Services by 1.6% in the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,953,507 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,120,893,000 after purchasing an additional 160,051 shares during the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Republic Services in the second quarter worth $682,573,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its holdings in Republic Services by 14.0% in the third quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,814,825 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $590,761,000 after purchasing an additional 345,719 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in Republic Services by 68.0% during the 1st quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,256,190 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $497,828,000 after purchasing an additional 913,249 shares during the last quarter. 57.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Republic Services Company Profile

Republic Services, Inc. provides waste collection, recycling and environmental services to residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers across the United States. Its services include collecting and transporting waste, operating transfer stations and landfills, and processing recyclable materials. The company also provides environmental solutions, including services for the management and disposal of hazardous and other specialized waste. Republic Services traces its origins to the 1990s and expanded its operations through the 2008 combination with Allied Waste Industries.

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