Brokerages Set Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) Target Price at $220.06

Shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) have been assigned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eighteen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat reports. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $221.12.

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on RSG. Oppenheimer boosted their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $219.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Republic Services from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. CIBC boosted their target price on Republic Services from $217.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price target for the company from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Republic Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their price objective for the company from $211.00 to $238.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Republic Services news, Director Katharine Weymouth sold 1,859 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 sale, the director now directly owns 879 shares in the company, valued at approximately $189,222.33. The trade was a 67.90 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brian M. Delghiaccio sold 5,071 shares of the firm’s 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 completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer now owns 6,318 shares in the company, valued at $1,326,906.36. The trade was a 44.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Republic Services

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. FSA Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Republic Services during the 3rd quarter worth approximately $25,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its stake in Republic Services by 351.6% during the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 140 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 109 shares during the last quarter. Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new stake in Republic Services in the 3rd quarter valued at $31,000. Truvestments Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Republic Services in the 3rd quarter worth $34,000. Finally, Itau Unibanco Holding S.A. acquired a new position in shares of Republic Services during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. 57.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Republic Services Stock Performance

Shares of Republic Services 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 company has a market capitalization of $63.64 billion, a PE ratio of 32.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.73. The stock’s fifty day moving average is $208.37 and its two-hundred day moving average is $203.76. 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 released its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.20. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.18% and a net margin of 12.46%. The firm had revenue of $4.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.54 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, analysts expect that Republic Services will post 6.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

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

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.