Scotiabank Issues Positive Forecast for Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Stock Price

Key Points

• Scotiabank raised its price target on Waste Management to $260 from $250 while keeping a “sector perform” rating, implying about 7.2% upside from the current share price.
• Other analysts remain broadly positive, with several firms recently lifting targets and ratings; the stock now has a consensus Moderate Buy and an average price target of $256.70.
• Waste Management also reported solid quarterly results, with EPS of $1.81 beating estimates, while revenue rose 3.5% year over year and the stock traded up 4.2% to $242.59.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) had its price target upped by investment analysts at Scotiabank from $250.00 to $260.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a "sector perform" rating on the business services provider's stock. Scotiabank's price objective would indicate a potential upside of 7.18% from the stock's current price.

A number of other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Royal Bank Of Canada raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce upgraded shares of Waste Management from a "hold" rating to an "outperformer" rating and set a $244.00 price target on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, July 7th. Citigroup increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $263.00 to $269.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, July 10th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company lowered their price objective on Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a report on Thursday, April 30th. Sixteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $256.70.

Waste Management Stock Up 4.2%

NYSE WM traded up $9.79 on Thursday, hitting $242.59. 1,041,153 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,193,960. Waste Management has a fifty-two week low of $194.11 and a fifty-two week high of $248.13. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $221.30 and a 200-day moving average price of $226.26. The company has a quick ratio of 0.89, a current ratio of 0.93 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The company has a market cap of $97.42 billion, a PE ratio of 35.03, a PEG ratio of 2.85 and a beta of 0.44.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The business had revenue of $6.23 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.28 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.67 EPS. The company's revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Waste Management will post 8.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Bank & Trust Co raised its holdings in Waste Management by 301.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank & Trust Co now owns 289 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $64,000 after acquiring an additional 217 shares during the last quarter. Abound Wealth Management boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 25.1% in the second quarter. Abound Wealth Management now owns 619 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $138,000 after acquiring an additional 124 shares during the last quarter. Tema ETFs LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 10.0% in the second quarter. Tema ETFs LLC now owns 6,371 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,420,000 after purchasing an additional 580 shares during the period. West Branch Capital LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 887.3% during the second quarter. West Branch Capital LLC now owns 701 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $156,000 after purchasing an additional 630 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Fiduciary Financial Group LLC raised its stake in Waste Management by 4.0% during the second quarter. Fiduciary Financial Group LLC now owns 1,304 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $291,000 after purchasing an additional 50 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.