Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) Receives $220.06 Average Target Price from Analysts

Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) has been given an average rating of “Moderate Buy” by the eighteen research firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have given a buy rating to the company. The average 12-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $221.12.

RSG has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Oppenheimer boosted 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. CIBC upped their price objective on Republic Services from $217.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Royal Bank of Canada raised Republic Services from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their target price for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research note on Monday. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Republic Services from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, William Blair assumed coverage on Republic Services in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating for the company.

Republic Services Price Performance

RSG stock opened at $203.22 on Friday. Republic Services has a 52-week low of $162.27 and a 52-week high of $220.58. The business has a fifty day moving average of $208.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $203.76. The stock has a market cap of $63.64 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 32.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.73. 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 announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.20. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 18.18%. The business had revenue of $4.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.12 billion. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.54 earnings per share. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, research analysts anticipate that Republic Services will post 6.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.14%. Republic Services’s payout ratio is 37.12%.

Insider Activity at Republic Services

In related news, Director Katharine Weymouth sold 1,859 shares of Republic Services stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was 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. The trade was a 67.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CFO Brian M. Delghiaccio sold 5,071 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.02, for a total value of $1,065,011.42. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,318 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,326,906.36. This trade represents a 44.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Republic Services

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. TCW Group Inc. lifted 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 purchasing an additional 13,138 shares during the period. Connor Clark & Lunn Investment Management Ltd. purchased a new position in shares of Republic Services during the 3rd quarter valued at approximately $6,102,000. Lifeworks Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Republic Services by 1,112.3% during the third quarter. Lifeworks Advisors LLC now owns 21,469 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,312,000 after buying an additional 19,698 shares in the last quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. raised its holdings in Republic Services by 15.2% in the third quarter. Assenagon Asset Management S.A. now owns 5,663 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,137,000 after acquiring an additional 746 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Republic Services during the 3rd quarter valued at $6,579,000. Hedge funds and other 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.