Zacks Research Has Bullish Estimate for WM FY2024 Earnings

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) – Equities researchers at Zacks Research increased their FY2024 earnings per share estimates for Waste Management in a research report issued on Monday, November 18th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the business services provider will post earnings of $7.29 per share for the year, up from their prior estimate of $7.11. The consensus estimate for Waste Management’s current full-year earnings is $7.30 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Waste Management’s Q1 2025 earnings at $1.75 EPS, Q2 2025 earnings at $1.98 EPS, Q3 2025 earnings at $2.01 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.95 EPS, FY2025 earnings at $7.69 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.01 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $2.32 EPS and Q3 2026 earnings at $2.25 EPS.

A number of other analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Royal Bank of Canada upped their target price on shares of Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Argus lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Waste Management in a report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 price objective on the stock. Finally, Robert W. Baird lowered their price target on shares of Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Friday, July 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $226.11.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM opened at $218.78 on Wednesday. Waste Management has a 1 year low of $168.73 and a 1 year high of $226.84. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $212.24 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $209.92. The firm has a market cap of $87.81 billion, a PE ratio of 33.45, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.74.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.63 earnings per share.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th will be issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.37%. The ex-dividend date is Friday, December 6th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 45.87%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $834,946.25. The trade was a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of WM. McIlrath & Eck LLC grew its holdings in Waste Management by 0.7% in the 3rd quarter. McIlrath & Eck LLC now owns 12,706 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,638,000 after buying an additional 84 shares in the last quarter. Unigestion Holding SA boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 28.2% during the 3rd quarter. Unigestion Holding SA now owns 174,293 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $36,154,000 after acquiring an additional 38,334 shares during the last quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. increased its position in Waste Management by 19.9% during the third quarter. Sunbelt Securities Inc. now owns 990 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $206,000 after purchasing an additional 164 shares during the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank raised its stake in Waste Management by 1.9% during the third quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 185,454 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $38,500,000 after purchasing an additional 3,495 shares during the period. Finally, Neo Ivy Capital Management acquired a new position in Waste Management in the 3rd quarter valued at about $1,408,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

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.