Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) Given Consensus Rating of “Hold” by Analysts

Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) has received a consensus recommendation of “Hold” from the twenty-three analysts that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Twelve equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and eleven have issued a buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $245.15.

Several research analysts have recently weighed in on RSG shares. Weiss Ratings cut Republic Services from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a research report on Wednesday, April 29th. BMO Capital Markets reduced their price objective on Republic Services from $251.00 to $248.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Wednesday, February 18th. UBS Group reduced their price objective on Republic Services from $240.00 to $223.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on Republic Services from $233.00 to $245.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Friday, April 10th. Finally, Citigroup reduced their price objective on Republic Services from $253.00 to $247.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Tuesday, May 12th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Republic Services

In other news, major shareholder Cascade Investment, L.L.C. acquired 366,000 shares of Republic Services stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, May 13th. The stock was bought at an average cost of $202.24 per share, with a total value of $74,019,840.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider directly owned 110,315,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $22,310,304,199.68. This represents a 0.33% increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders bought 987,150 shares of company stock worth $202,366,682 over the last ninety days. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of RSG. Norges Bank acquired a new position in Republic Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $617,165,000. Capital World Investors boosted its position in Republic Services by 27.7% during the fourth quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 8,765,623 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,857,698,000 after purchasing an additional 1,899,183 shares during the last quarter. Morgan Stanley boosted its position in Republic Services by 38.6% during the fourth quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,348,501 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,133,509,000 after purchasing an additional 1,490,719 shares during the last quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC boosted its position in Republic Services by 68.0% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,256,190 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $497,828,000 after purchasing an additional 913,249 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its position in Republic Services by 18.9% during the fourth quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 5,070,130 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,074,513,000 after purchasing an additional 807,525 shares during the last quarter. 57.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Republic Services Stock Down 1.0%

Shares of Republic Services stock opened at $206.84 on Wednesday. Republic Services has a 1 year low of $196.41 and a 1 year high of $258.75. The business has a 50-day moving average of $212.33 and a two-hundred day moving average of $214.90. The company has a market capitalization of $63.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 29.68, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.44 and a beta of 0.43. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.06. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.57% and a net margin of 13.00%.The company had revenue of $4.11 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.10 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $1.58 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 2.6% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities analysts predict that Republic Services will post 7.27 EPS for the current year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.625 per share. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.2%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, July 2nd. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 36.15%.

About Republic Services

Republic Services, Inc is a leading provider of non-hazardous solid waste and recycling services in the United States. The company offers a broad range of waste management solutions to residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers, positioning itself as a full-service partner for everyday waste collection as well as specialized disposal needs.

Republic’s core operations include curbside and commercial collection, transfer and hauling, materials recovery and recycling facilities, and landfill disposal.