Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) Reaches New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG)’s share price hit a new 52-week high during trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $233.42 and last traded at $232.57, with a volume of 116345 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $230.87.

Analyst Ratings Changes

RSG has been the topic of a number of recent research reports. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price objective on Republic Services from $240.00 to $257.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. CIBC upped their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $217.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. UBS Group lifted their target price on shares of Republic Services from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 19th. William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Republic Services in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Republic Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the company from $211.00 to $238.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $233.41.

Republic Services Price Performance

The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $213.92 and its 200-day simple moving average is $209.09. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The company has a market capitalization of $72.92 billion, a PE ratio of 35.98, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.74.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last released its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.08 billion. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.74% and a return on equity of 18.28%. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.41 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Shareholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 0.99%. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 35.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Republic Services

In related news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the 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 transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 10,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,376,931.20. This represents a 37.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Katharine Weymouth sold 1,859 shares of Republic Services stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was 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 $189,222.33. This trade represents a 67.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Republic Services

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RSG. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in Republic Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI grew its position in shares of Republic Services by 200.0% in the 4th quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 132 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 88 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Republic Services during the 4th quarter worth $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new position in Republic Services in the third quarter valued at $34,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC grew its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 70.2% during the fourth quarter. New Age Alpha Advisors LLC now owns 177 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 73 shares during the last quarter. 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.