Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) Receives $233.41 Average Target Price from Analysts

Shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the sixteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation and ten have assigned a buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month target price among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $234.56.

A number of analysts have issued reports on RSG shares. CIBC lifted their price target on Republic Services from $217.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, December 4th. BMO Capital Markets raised Republic Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price target for the company from $211.00 to $238.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley raised their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. Argus set a $260.00 target price on shares of Republic Services in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on shares of Republic Services from $239.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Katharine Weymouth sold 1,859 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.27, for a total value of $400,186.93. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 879 shares in the company, valued at $189,222.33. This trade represents a 67.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 in the company, valued at $2,376,931.20. The trade was a 37.66 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Republic Services

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of RSG. Norges Bank acquired a new stake in Republic Services in the fourth quarter valued at $553,039,000. Stifel Financial Corp increased its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 437.9% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,814,613 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $364,449,000 after purchasing an additional 1,477,255 shares in the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP boosted its holdings in Republic Services by 23.2% during the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,004,199 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,205,883,000 after buying an additional 1,131,850 shares in the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Republic Services during the fourth quarter worth about $184,827,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC increased its holdings in Republic Services by 83,671.9% in the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 538,653 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $108,183,000 after buying an additional 538,010 shares in the last quarter. 57.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Republic Services Stock Performance

Shares of Republic Services stock opened at $237.42 on Monday. The business has a 50-day simple moving average of $215.73 and a 200-day simple moving average of $209.68. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.58. Republic Services has a one year low of $180.91 and a one year high of $237.52. The company has a market cap of $74.14 billion, a PE ratio of 36.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.74.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate 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 firm posted $1.41 EPS. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Republic Services will post 6.86 EPS 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. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.98%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.75%.

About Republic Services

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.