Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) Given Consensus Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by Brokerages

Key Points

• Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) has been given a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" by 26 research firms, with an average price target of $253.00 over the next year.
• Recent earnings reports show Waste Management beat analysts' expectations, reporting $1.92 earnings per share for the quarter compared to the forecast of $1.89, along with a revenue growth of 19% year-on-year.
• The firm has announced a quarterly dividend of $0.825 per share, representing an annual yield of 1.5% and a payout ratio of approximately 48.96%.

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twenty-six research firms that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Ten equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, fourteen have assigned a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price objective among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $253.00.

Several equities research analysts have recently weighed in on the company. CIBC increased their price objective on Waste Management from $244.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a report on Thursday, June 26th. UBS Group decreased their price target on Waste Management from $265.00 to $240.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a report on Thursday, October 16th. BMO Capital Markets increased their price target on Waste Management from $245.00 to $248.00 and gave the stock a "market perform" rating in a report on Wednesday, July 30th. National Bankshares decreased their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $243.00 and set a "sector perform" rating for the company in a report on Tuesday, October 7th. Finally, Oppenheimer decreased their price target on Waste Management from $265.00 to $262.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 8th.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Westend Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 126.9% in the 1st quarter. Westend Capital Management LLC now owns 118 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Saudi Central Bank purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 1st quarter valued at about $37,000. GKV Capital Management Co. Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 1st quarter valued at about $38,000. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P purchased a new stake in shares of Waste Management during the 2nd quarter valued at about $40,000. Finally, Wealth Watch Advisors INC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the 2nd quarter worth approximately $43,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.0%

WM stock opened at $215.50 on Tuesday. The company's 50 day moving average price is $220.96 and its 200 day moving average price is $227.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a current ratio of 0.86. The firm has a market capitalization of $86.81 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 31.97, a PEG ratio of 2.65 and a beta of 0.64. Waste Management has a fifty-two week low of $199.69 and a fifty-two week high of $242.58.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Monday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $1.92 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.03. The firm had revenue of $6.43 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.37 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 34.37% and a net margin of 11.36%.The firm's quarterly revenue was up 19.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.82 earnings per share. Waste Management has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 12th were given a $0.825 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 12th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.5%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is presently 48.96%.

Waste Management Company Profile

Waste Management, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of environmental solutions to residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services, including picking up and transporting waste and recyclable materials from where it was generated to a transfer station, material recovery facility (MRF), or disposal site; and owns and operates transfer stations, as well as owns, develops, and operates landfill facilities that produce landfill gas used as renewable natural gas for generating electricity.

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