The Goldman Sachs Group Increases Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) Price Target to $265.00

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) had its target price boosted by The Goldman Sachs Group from $239.00 to $265.00 in a research note released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a buy rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other research firms also recently commented on RSG. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on Republic Services from $219.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Jefferies Financial Group increased their price objective on Republic Services from $235.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. CIBC increased their price objective on Republic Services from $217.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $219.00 to $237.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Republic Services in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Republic Services has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $231.75.

Republic Services Trading Up 0.5 %

NYSE:RSG opened at $230.73 on Tuesday. Republic Services has a twelve month low of $179.62 and a twelve month high of $232.52. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $212.44 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $208.27. The company has a market cap of $72.05 billion, a P/E ratio of 35.55, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.61 and a beta of 0.74.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.21. The firm had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 12.74%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.41 EPS. As a group, analysts expect that Republic Services will post 6.85 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. Republic Services’s payout ratio is 35.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Katharine Weymouth sold 1,859 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.27, for a total value of $400,186.93. Following the transaction, the director now owns 879 shares in the company, valued at approximately $189,222.33. This trade represents a 67.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.20, for a total value of $1,436,062.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 10,416 shares in the company, valued at $2,376,931.20. The trade was a 37.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of RSG. Creative Planning increased its position in shares of Republic Services by 8.1% in the third quarter. Creative Planning now owns 31,447 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $6,316,000 after purchasing an additional 2,360 shares during the period. Whittier Trust Co. boosted its stake in Republic Services by 14.5% in the third quarter. Whittier Trust Co. now owns 1,162 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $233,000 after buying an additional 147 shares in the last quarter. Mattern Wealth Management LLC acquired a new stake in Republic Services in the third quarter valued at about $201,000. Eastern Bank acquired a new stake in Republic Services in the third quarter valued at about $673,000. Finally, CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT boosted its stake in Republic Services by 22.2% in the third quarter. CUSHING ASSET MANAGEMENT LP dba NXG INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT now owns 11,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,209,000 after buying an additional 2,000 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

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.