Scotiabank Initiates Coverage on Waste Management (NYSE:WM)

Investment analysts at Scotiabank assumed coverage on shares of Waste Management (NYSE:WM) in a research report issued on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The firm set a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock. Scotiabank’s target price points to a potential upside of 5.72% from the stock’s current price.

A number of other equities research analysts also recently issued reports on the company. CIBC lowered their price target on Waste Management from $223.00 to $213.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Truist Financial reduced their price objective on Waste Management from $240.00 to $235.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, July 11th. Robert W. Baird reduced their price objective on Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Oppenheimer reduced their price objective on Waste Management from $229.00 to $224.00 and set an “outperform” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Twelve research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $218.89.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $208.09 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21, a quick ratio of 1.03 and a current ratio of 1.07. The stock has a fifty day moving average of $206.74 and a two-hundred day moving average of $208.52. The company has a market capitalization of $83.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.06, a PEG ratio of 2.32 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Management has a fifty-two week low of $152.90 and a fifty-two week high of $225.00.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 EPS for the quarter, meeting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82. The business had revenue of $5.40 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.43 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.52% and a net margin of 12.13%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $1.51 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Waste Management will post 7.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $330,000.00. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 44,144 shares in the company, valued at $9,711,680. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 170.5% during the first quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 119 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $25,000 after buying an additional 75 shares in the last quarter. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the second quarter worth about $31,000. Opal Wealth Advisors LLC acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the first quarter worth about $35,000. Fairway Wealth LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 62.9% during the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 171 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 66 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL acquired a new stake in Waste Management during the second quarter worth about $36,000. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.