Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Receives Buy (B) Rating from Weiss Ratings

Key Points

• Weiss Ratings has restated Waste Management's stock rating as a buy, amidst coverage from other analysts suggesting varying price targets and ratings.
• Waste Management reported a 19% year-over-year revenue increase, exceeding analysts' expectations, with an EPS of $1.92 compared to a forecast of $1.89.
• Currently, an average of 80.40% of Waste Management's stock is held by institutional investors, highlighting strong institutional interest in the company.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "buy (b)" rating restated by stock analysts at Weiss Ratings in a research report issued to clients and investors on Wednesday,Weiss Ratings reports.

WM has been the subject of a number of other research reports. Barclays assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, September 19th. They set an "overweight" rating and a $272.00 price objective for the company. Scotiabank boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $275.00 and gave the company a "sector outperform" rating in a research report on Thursday, July 31st. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Tuesday, July 29th. Oppenheimer dropped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $262.00 and set an "outperform" rating for the company in a report on Wednesday. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada reaffirmed a "sector perform" rating and issued a $229.00 target price on shares of Waste Management in a report on Thursday, June 26th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, fourteen have issued a Buy rating and ten have assigned a Hold rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $254.37.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM traded up $2.00 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $219.56. The company had a trading volume of 593,105 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,691,084. The company has a current ratio of 0.86, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.51. Waste Management has a 52 week low of $199.69 and a 52 week high of $242.58. The firm has a market cap of $88.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.57, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.64. The firm's 50 day moving average price is $223.72 and its 200-day moving average price is $228.15.

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

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

A number of hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WM. Brighton Jones LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 2,320 shares in the last quarter. Sprott Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the first quarter valued at approximately $325,000. Farther Finance Advisors LLC boosted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 66.9% during the first quarter. Farther Finance Advisors LLC now owns 7,690 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $1,798,000 after purchasing an additional 3,082 shares in the last quarter. Fourpath Capital Management LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the first quarter valued at approximately $209,000. Finally, Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC lifted its position in Waste Management by 1.2% during the first quarter. Wealthcare Advisory Partners LLC now owns 21,180 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $4,903,000 after acquiring an additional 243 shares during the last quarter. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest and most accurate reporting. This story was reviewed by MarketBeat's editorial team prior to publication. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.