Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.09 EPS

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) posted its earnings results on Wednesday. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09), Zacks reports. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%.

Waste Management Price Performance

Waste Management stock traded up $10.80 during trading hours on Thursday, hitting $220.35. 1,219,581 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,704,435. The firm has a market cap of $88.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.64, a P/E/G ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.77. The company has a quick ratio of 0.85, a current ratio of 0.89 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The firm’s 50-day simple moving average is $212.26 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $211.28. Waste Management has a 1-year low of $184.72 and a 1-year high of $230.39.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were issued a $0.75 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.36%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 45.87%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of research analysts have recently issued reports on the company. UBS Group boosted their target price on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday, November 5th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada upped their price objective on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upped their price objective on Waste Management from $213.00 to $220.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.39.

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.