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

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its price target upped by investment analysts at Stifel Nicolaus from $252.00 to $261.00 in a report issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Stifel Nicolaus’ price target would indicate a potential upside of 15.55% from the company’s previous close.

WM has been the subject of several other reports. Robert W. Baird increased their price objective on Waste Management from $248.00 to $260.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 16th. TD Cowen boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, April 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Friday, April 10th. Scotiabank raised their price objective on Waste Management from $250.00 to $260.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 16th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Fourteen research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have assigned a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $258.11.

Waste Management Trading Down 4.5%

Shares of WM traded down $10.72 during mid-day trading on Thursday, reaching $225.88. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 1,269,525 shares, compared to its average volume of 2,168,332. Waste Management has a 52 week low of $194.11 and a 52 week high of $248.13. The stock has a market cap 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’s fifty day moving average price is $225.18 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $227.56. The company has a current ratio of 0.93, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.04. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.11% and a return on equity of 31.74%. The company had revenue of $6.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.71 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.92 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts predict that Waste Management will post 8.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WM. Vanguard Group Inc. raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.4% in the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 38,990,067 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,566,508,000 after acquiring an additional 553,605 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its holdings in Waste Management by 1.6% during the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 17,390,748 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,820,921,000 after purchasing an additional 281,456 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 1.3% in the 4th quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 8,993,006 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,972,371,000 after purchasing an additional 117,476 shares during the last quarter. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter worth $1,022,916,000. Finally, Northern Trust Corp grew its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 0.3% during the third quarter. Northern Trust Corp now owns 3,954,519 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $873,276,000 after purchasing an additional 11,688 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.