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

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its price objective raised by Citigroup from $263.00 to $269.00 in a research note released on Friday morning,Benzinga reports. Citigroup currently has a buy rating on the business services provider’s stock.

A number of other equities research analysts have also recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Oppenheimer reduced their price target on Waste Management from $264.00 to $263.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research report on Wednesday. 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 report on Thursday, April 16th. TD Cowen boosted their target price on Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Wells Fargo & Company reduced their target price on Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Sixteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have given a Hold rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $256.20.

Waste Management Stock Up 0.8%

WM stock traded up $1.83 during trading on Friday, reaching $233.50. 1,033,338 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 2,243,656. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $220.79 and a 200 day simple moving average of $225.93. Waste Management has a 12 month low of $194.11 and a 12 month high of $248.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.22, a quick ratio of 0.89 and a current ratio of 0.93. The company has a market capitalization of $93.77 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.79, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.43 and a beta of 0.44.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, April 28th. The business services provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.75 by $0.06. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.99% and a return on equity of 31.90%. The business had revenue of $6.23 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $6.28 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.67 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue was up 3.5% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts anticipate that Waste Management will post 8.14 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Shareholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a dividend of $0.945 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.6%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is currently 54.70%.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Elevated Capital Advisors LLC purchased a new stake in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 55.3% during the fourth quarter. Financial Network Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 132 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $29,000 after buying an additional 47 shares during the period. RHL Group LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at $29,000. Mcguire Capital Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $29,000. Finally, JPL Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 3rd quarter worth about $30,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other 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.