Stifel Nicolaus Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Stock

Key Points

• Stifel Nicolaus raised Waste Management’s price target from $252 to $261 and maintained a “buy” rating, implying 15.55% upside from the stock’s $225.88 price.
• Analyst sentiment remains positive, with 14 buy ratings and six holds; MarketBeat reports a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating and an average target price of $258.11.
• Waste Management exceeded quarterly EPS expectations, reporting $2.02 versus the $1.98 consensus, while revenue rose 4% year over year to $6.68 billion. Institutional investors own approximately 80.4% of the company’s shares.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) had its price objective lifted by investment analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $252.00 to $261.00 in a research report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "buy" rating on the business services provider's stock. Stifel Nicolaus' price target indicates a potential upside of 15.55% from the company's current price.

WM has been the topic of several other research reports. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Citigroup lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $263.00 to $269.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Friday, July 10th. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Thursday. Weiss Ratings lowered Waste Management from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an "overweight" rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $258.11.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Waste Management stock traded down $10.72 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $225.88. 1,269,525 shares of the company's stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 2,168,332. The firm has a market capitalization of $90.71 billion, a PE ratio of 32.03, a P/E/G ratio of 2.91 and a beta of 0.44. 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 business's fifty day simple moving average is $225.18 and its 200 day simple moving average is $227.56. Waste Management has a one year low of $194.11 and a one year high of $248.13.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.04. The company had revenue of $6.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $6.71 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.74% and a net margin of 11.11%.The business's revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.92 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts expect that Waste Management will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Midland Wealth Advisors LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 7.7% in the second quarter. Midland Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 1,392 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $310,000 after purchasing an additional 99 shares during the last quarter. Sunpointe LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 2nd quarter valued at $1,103,000. Fortis Group Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 211.8% during the 2nd quarter. Fortis Group Advisors LLC now owns 22,312 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $4,973,000 after acquiring an additional 15,155 shares during the last quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp grew its position in Waste Management by 1.0% in the second quarter. Boston Trust Walden Corp now owns 99,480 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $22,172,000 after acquiring an additional 1,029 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Perryman Financial Advisory Inc. AD grew its position in Waste Management by 2.4% in the second quarter. Perryman Financial Advisory Inc. AD now owns 60,249 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $13,428,000 after acquiring an additional 1,433 shares in the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Waste Management Company Profile

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.

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