Zacks Research Forecasts Lower Earnings for Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research decreased their Q1 2025 earnings estimates for Waste Management in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, February 19th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now expects that the business services provider will post earnings per share of $1.70 for the quarter, down from their prior estimate of $1.80. The consensus estimate for Waste Management’s current full-year earnings is $7.70 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Waste Management’s Q2 2025 earnings at $1.91 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.07 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.94 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.94 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $7.61 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $1.86 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $2.02 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $2.14 EPS, Q3 2026 earnings at $2.14 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $7.92 EPS.

A number of other research firms have also commented on WM. Scotiabank raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “sector outperform” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. CIBC raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Truist Financial raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $235.94.

Waste Management Trading Up 0.4 %

Waste Management stock opened at $230.59 on Monday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $214.22 and a 200 day moving average price of $213.47. Waste Management has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $232.44. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76. The firm has a market capitalization of $92.72 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.91, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 44.12%.

Insider Activity

In other Waste Management news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total value of $42,062.02. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 6,129 shares in the company, valued at $1,349,728.38. The trade was a 3.02 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total transaction of $123,261.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 9,152 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,014,446.72. This trade represents a 5.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 66,192 shares of company stock worth $15,025,861. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the third quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $26,000 after acquiring an additional 120 shares during the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after purchasing an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $28,000. General Partner Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $29,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth approximately $33,000. 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.