Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) Receives $219.88 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the eighteen ratings firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $220.06.

Several brokerages have commented on RSG. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Republic Services from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer increased their target price on Republic Services from $219.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research report on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Republic Services from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday. Finally, CIBC upped their target price on shares of Republic Services from $217.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th.

Republic Services Trading Down 0.6 %

Shares of RSG opened at $208.97 on Wednesday. The stock’s fifty day simple moving average is $208.36 and its 200-day simple moving average is $201.56. The firm has a market capitalization of $65.44 billion, a PE ratio of 33.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.71. Republic Services has a 12-month low of $160.65 and a 12-month high of $220.58. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last issued its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.20. The company had revenue of $4.08 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.12 billion. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 18.18%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.54 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Republic Services will post 6.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.11%. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 37.12%.

Insider Transactions at Republic Services

In other Republic Services news, CFO Brian M. Delghiaccio sold 5,071 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.02, for a total transaction of $1,065,011.42. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,326,906.36. This represents a 44.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Katharine Weymouth sold 1,859 shares of Republic Services stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.27, for a total transaction of $400,186.93. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now directly owns 879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $189,222.33. This trade represents a 67.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Republic Services

Several hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the company. TCW Group Inc. boosted its stake in shares of Republic Services by 13.0% during the 3rd quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 114,582 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $23,013,000 after acquiring an additional 13,138 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. bought a new position in Republic Services during the third quarter worth $6,102,000. Lifeworks Advisors LLC increased its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 1,112.3% in the third quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 21,469 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,312,000 after purchasing an additional 19,698 shares during the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. lifted its stake in shares of Republic Services by 15.2% during the 3rd quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,663 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,137,000 after buying an additional 746 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP acquired a new position in Republic Services in the 3rd quarter valued at about $6,579,000. 57.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Republic Services Company Profile

Republic Services, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, offers environmental services in the United States and Canada. It is involved in the collection and processing of recyclable, solid waste, and industrial waste materials; transportation and disposal of non-hazardous and hazardous waste streams; and other environmental solutions.