Scotiabank Lowers Earnings Estimates for Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) – Research analysts at Scotiabank reduced their FY2026 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Waste Management in a report released on Wednesday, March 19th. Scotiabank analyst K. Gupta now expects that the business services provider will post earnings of $8.77 per share for the year, down from their previous estimate of $9.14. Scotiabank has a “Sector Outperform” rating and a $255.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Waste Management’s current full-year earnings is $7.70 per share.

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

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on WM. Citigroup increased their price target on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Monday, February 3rd. Oppenheimer increased their price target on Waste Management from $231.00 to $237.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group reduced their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, StockNews.com lowered Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Nine research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.65.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM stock opened at $224.76 on Monday. Waste Management has a 1 year low of $196.59 and a 1 year high of $235.81. The firm has a market cap of $90.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.05, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $222.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $215.91. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.76.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Swedbank AB lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 67.2% during the third quarter. Swedbank AB now owns 1,765,594 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $366,537,000 after purchasing an additional 709,678 shares during the last quarter. Jennison Associates LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 1.4% during the third quarter. Jennison Associates LLC now owns 7,222 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,499,000 after purchasing an additional 100 shares during the last quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 9.8% during the third quarter. Pacer Advisors Inc. now owns 46,035 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $9,557,000 after purchasing an additional 4,110 shares during the last quarter. Nwam LLC lifted its position in shares of Waste Management by 21.4% during the third quarter. Nwam LLC now owns 4,466 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $927,000 after purchasing an additional 786 shares during the last quarter. Finally, GenTrust LLC bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the third quarter worth about $228,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, CAO John A. Carroll sold 209 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.55, for a total value of $46,094.95. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 9,066 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,999,506.30. This represents a 2.25 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total transaction of $152,868.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,542 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $10,046,109.78. The trade was a 1.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a $0.825 dividend. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.47%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

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.