Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Given New $269.00 Price Target at Citigroup

Key Points

• Citigroup raised its price target on Waste Management from $263 to $269 and maintained a buy rating, implying about 16% upside from the current share price.
• Other analysts remain generally positive, with several firms recently lifting targets; the stock now has 16 Buy ratings and 7 Hold ratings, alongside a consensus Moderate Buy and average target price of $256.20.
• Waste Management’s latest earnings topped expectations, reporting $1.81 EPS versus $1.75 expected, while revenue grew 3.5% year over year to $6.23 billion.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) had its price target boosted by equities researchers at Citigroup from $263.00 to $269.00 in a report issued on Friday,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a "buy" rating on the business services provider's stock. Citigroup's target price points to a potential upside of 16.15% from the stock's current price.

WM has been the subject of several other research reports. Robert W. Baird boosted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock an "outperform" rating in a report on Thursday, April 16th. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Waste Management from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a report on Thursday, June 11th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Oppenheimer reduced their target price on shares of Waste Management from $264.00 to $263.00 and set an "outperform" rating on the stock in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective 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. Sixteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have assigned a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $256.20.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WM traded down $0.07 during trading on Friday, reaching $231.60. 316,510 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,215,096. Waste Management has a 12-month low of $194.11 and a 12-month high of $248.13. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22. The stock has a market cap of $93.01 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.52, a PEG ratio of 2.45 and a beta of 0.44. The firm's fifty day simple moving average is $220.72 and its 200 day simple moving average is $225.87.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.75 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.28 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.67 EPS. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Waste Management will post 8.15 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

Large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Brighton Jones LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% in the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,384,000 after acquiring an additional 2,320 shares during the last quarter. Sprott Inc. acquired a new position in Waste Management during the first quarter valued at approximately $325,000. Sei Investments Co. grew its stake in Waste Management by 8.0% in the second quarter. Sei Investments Co. now owns 272,438 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $62,339,000 after purchasing an additional 20,122 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company grew its holdings in Waste Management by 68.2% during the second quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 366,416 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $83,843,000 after purchasing an additional 148,590 shares during the period. Finally, Glenview Trust co increased its position in Waste Management by 5.1% during the second quarter. Glenview Trust co now owns 3,338 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $764,000 after buying an additional 162 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company's stock.

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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