Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) Earns Outperform Rating from William Blair

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reaffirmed by equities researchers at William Blair in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday,RTT News reports.

Other equities analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. BMO Capital Markets upgraded Republic Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $211.00 to $238.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Republic Services from $219.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley raised 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, December 12th. Jefferies Financial Group upped their price objective on Republic Services from $235.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised 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 note on Tuesday, December 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Republic Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $225.38.

Republic Services Stock Up 2.9 %

Shares of RSG opened at $230.98 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The firm has a market cap of $72.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.96, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.74. The company’s 50-day moving average price is $210.94 and its 200 day moving average price is $207.33. Republic Services has a 12-month low of $177.03 and a 12-month high of $232.52.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 18.18%. The firm had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.41 EPS. On average, sell-side analysts forecast that Republic Services will post 6.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Republic Services

In other news, CFO Brian M. Delghiaccio sold 5,071 shares of the stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,326,906.36. This represents a 44.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, Director Katharine Weymouth sold 1,859 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.27, for a total value of $400,186.93. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $189,222.33. This represents a 67.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Republic Services

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. raised its holdings in Republic Services by 37.5% during the fourth quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 17,682 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,586,000 after purchasing an additional 4,827 shares in the last quarter. TCW Group Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 13.0% in the 3rd quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 114,582 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $23,013,000 after buying an additional 13,138 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB purchased a new stake in shares of Republic Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,430,000. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in Republic Services in the third quarter worth $6,102,000. Finally, Lifeworks Advisors LLC lifted its holdings in 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 acquiring an additional 19,698 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds 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.