Erste Group Bank Issues Optimistic Estimate for WM Earnings

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) – Analysts at Erste Group Bank raised their FY2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Waste Management in a note issued to investors on Friday, September 18th. Erste Group Bank analyst H. Engel now expects that the business services provider will post earnings of $8.13 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $8.12. The consensus estimate for Waste Management’s current full-year earnings is $8.13 per share. Erste Group Bank also issued estimates for Waste Management’s FY2027 earnings at $9.06 EPS.

Other research analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. Oppenheimer dropped their price target on shares of Waste Management from $264.00 to $263.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Wolfe Research started coverage on Waste Management in a research report on Tuesday, September 15th. They set a “peer perform” rating on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Waste Management from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “buy (b)” rating in a report on Wednesday, September 16th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Waste Management from $252.00 to $261.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Thursday, July 30th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $258.89.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE WM opened at $207.11 on Tuesday. The company has a 50-day moving average price of $225.06 and a 200-day moving average price of $225.58. Waste Management has a 52 week low of $194.11 and a 52 week high of $248.13. The company has a quick ratio of 0.87, a current ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $82.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.34, a PEG ratio of 2.66 and a beta of 0.42.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $2.02 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.98 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.71 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.68% and a net margin of 11.11%.The company’s revenue was up 4.0% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.92 EPS.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 7.8% in the 2nd quarter. Sequoia Financial Advisors LLC now owns 233,493 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $52,041,000 after acquiring an additional 16,917 shares during the period. Tidal Investments LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 9.5% in the second quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 74,348 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $16,571,000 after purchasing an additional 6,456 shares in the last quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 22.4% in the 2nd quarter. Van Hulzen Asset Management LLC now owns 36,813 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,205,000 after buying an additional 6,726 shares in the last quarter. MCF Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Waste Management by 4.3% in the 2nd quarter. MCF Advisors LLC now owns 3,677 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $819,000 after buying an additional 150 shares during the last quarter. Finally, National Pension Service raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 4.3% during the 2nd quarter. National Pension Service now owns 987,238 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $220,036,000 after acquiring an additional 40,975 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, CAO John Carroll sold 1,365 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.90, for a total transaction of $300,163.50. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 3,509 shares in the company, valued at approximately $771,629.10. This trade represents a 28.01% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, September 25th. Shareholders of record on Friday, September 11th will be paid a $0.945 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, September 11th. This represents a $3.78 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.8%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 53.54%.

About Waste Management

WM, Inc, formerly known as Waste Management, Inc, is an environmental services company that provides waste collection, transfer, disposal and recycling services. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers, helping manage everyday refuse as well as certain specialized waste streams.

Its operations include curbside and commercial waste collection, transfer stations, recycling facilities, landfills and waste-related energy services. WM also develops renewable natural gas and electricity projects that capture landfill gas for use as an energy source.