Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Raised to “Strong-Buy” at StockNews.com

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) was upgraded by research analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report released on Wednesday.

Several other analysts have also recently commented on WM. CIBC upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $228.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Robert W. Baird dropped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, July 26th. UBS Group upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. The Goldman Sachs Group upgraded shares of Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Finally, Morgan Stanley upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $226.11.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM stock opened at $220.44 on Wednesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $209.76 and a 200 day moving average price of $209.06. Waste Management has a fifty-two week low of $168.73 and a fifty-two week high of $225.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.48 billion, a PE ratio of 33.77, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. The firm had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. Waste Management’s revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $1.63 EPS. Analysts forecast that Waste Management will post 7.31 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In related 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 sale, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Waste Management

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Norden Group LLC bought a new position in Waste Management in the 1st quarter valued at about $418,000. Advisory Alpha LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 1.8% in the 1st quarter. Advisory Alpha LLC now owns 4,707 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,003,000 after acquiring an additional 81 shares during the period. Advisory Services Network LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 3.3% in the 1st quarter. Advisory Services Network LLC now owns 22,025 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,695,000 after acquiring an additional 698 shares during the period. Duality Advisers LP bought a new position in Waste Management in the 1st quarter valued at about $1,116,000. Finally, Empirical Finance LLC raised its holdings in Waste Management by 3.4% in the 1st quarter. Empirical Finance LLC now owns 13,610 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,901,000 after acquiring an additional 442 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.