Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) Sets New 12-Month High After Analyst Upgrade

Key Points

• Republic Services hit a new 52-week high after Argus upgraded the stock from Hold to Buy, setting a $275 price target; shares reached $254.62.
• Analyst sentiment is broadly positive: 14 analysts rate the stock Buy and seven Hold, with a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and average target of $252.10.
• The company beat quarterly earnings and revenue estimates, reporting EPS of $1.94 and revenue of $4.56 billion; it also announced a quarterly dividend of $0.67 per share.

Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG - Get Free Report) shares reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Friday after Argus upgraded the stock from a hold rating to a buy rating. Argus now has a $275.00 price target on the stock. Republic Services traded as high as $254.62 and last traded at $253.9640, with a volume of 23,211 shares trading hands. The stock had previously closed at $253.00.

RSG has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Wolfe Research initiated coverage on shares of Republic Services in a report on Tuesday, September 15th. They issued a "peer perform" rating on the stock. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $234.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised shares of Republic Services from a "neutral" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their target price for the stock from $265.00 to $295.00 in a report on Wednesday. UBS Group boosted their price objective on Republic Services from $233.00 to $235.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research report on Tuesday, August 11th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce dropped their price objective on Republic Services from $249.00 to $240.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, October 8th. Fourteen analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Republic Services has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $252.10.

Insider Buying and Selling at Republic Services

In related news, EVP Brian Bales sold 3,400 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Monday, November 2nd. The shares were sold at an average price of $244.00, for a total value of $829,600.00. Following the sale, the executive vice president owned 17,616 shares in the company, valued at approximately $4,298,304. The trade was a 16.18% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, major shareholder Cascade Investment, L.L.C. purchased 324,810 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, September 11th. The shares were acquired at an average cost of $222.89 per share, for a total transaction of $72,396,900.90. Following the purchase, the insider owned 117,058,444 shares of the company's stock, valued at $26,091,156,583.16. This represents a 0.28% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. Insiders purchased 5,240,588 shares of company stock worth $1,161,649,826 in the last 90 days. 0.12% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Republic Services

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. BlackRock Inc. purchased a new stake in Republic Services during the 2nd quarter valued at $3,798,092,000. State Street Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 1.6% in the 2nd quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,953,507 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $2,120,893,000 after acquiring 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 2nd quarter worth about $682,573,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA boosted its stake in shares of Republic Services by 14.0% during the 3rd quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,814,825 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $590,761,000 after purchasing an additional 345,719 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its stake in shares of 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 period. 57.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Republic Services Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $77.37 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.13, a P/E/G ratio of 4.14 and a beta of 0.32. The firm's fifty day moving average is $227.08 and its 200 day moving average is $218.34. 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 announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share (EPS) 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 the consensus estimate of $4.42 billion. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.93% and a return on equity of 18.56%. The firm's quarterly revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.90 earnings per share. As a group, analysts predict that Republic Services, Inc. will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Monday, January 4th will be paid a $0.67 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Monday, January 4th. This represents a $2.68 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.1%. Republic Services's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 37.07%.

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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