Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Hits New 12-Month Low on Analyst Downgrade

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) shares hit a new 52-week low on Monday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $240.00 to $225.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Waste Management traded as low as $195.56 and last traded at $194.7080, with a volume of 309408 shares. The stock had previously closed at $199.77.

WM has been the topic of several other reports. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Tuesday, July 29th. Erste Group Bank downgraded shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 11th. Stifel Nicolaus reduced their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $252.00 to $236.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Wednesday, October 29th. Raymond James Financial upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $256.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, July 22nd. Finally, Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Wednesday, October 8th. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have assigned a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $248.61.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WM. McAdam LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. McAdam LLC now owns 1,482 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $343,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 2.0% in the 2nd quarter. Syntegra Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 2,291 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $524,000 after acquiring an additional 44 shares during the period. Formidable Asset Management LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 2.0% in the 1st quarter. Formidable Asset Management LLC now owns 2,317 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $536,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 1.1% in the 2nd quarter. Harbour Trust & Investment Management Co now owns 4,120 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $943,000 after acquiring an additional 45 shares during the period. Finally, Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 3.1% in the 1st quarter. Annis Gardner Whiting Capital Advisors LLC now owns 1,509 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $349,000 after acquiring an additional 46 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Stock Performance

The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $217.43 and its 200 day moving average price is $226.26. The firm has a market cap of $78.68 billion, a PE ratio of 30.77, a P/E/G ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.64. The company has a current ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.82 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.98 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $6.44 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.51 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 14.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business posted $1.96 earnings per share. Waste Management has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Investors of record on Friday, September 12th were issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 12th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 51.97%.

About Waste Management

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.