Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) Price Target Raised to $240.00

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) had its price target boosted by UBS Group from $212.00 to $240.00 in a research note published on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a neutral rating on the business services provider’s stock.

Several other equities research analysts have also recently weighed in on RSG. William Blair reaffirmed an “outperform” rating on shares of Republic Services in a research report on Friday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Republic Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the company from $211.00 to $238.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Republic Services from $240.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Oppenheimer increased their target price on shares of Republic Services from $219.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group increased their target price on shares of Republic Services from $239.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday. Six research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $231.75.

Republic Services Price Performance

Shares of RSG opened at $230.73 on Wednesday. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $212.87 and a 200-day moving average price of $208.51. Republic Services has a fifty-two week low of $180.91 and a fifty-two week high of $232.52. The stock has a market capitalization of $72.05 billion, a PE ratio of 35.55, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.74. 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 (NYSE:RSG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.21. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.74% and a return on equity of 18.28%. The firm had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.08 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company earned $1.41 EPS. Equities analysts predict that Republic Services 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 paid a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.01%. Republic Services’s payout ratio is 35.75%.

Insider Transactions at Republic Services

In other news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.20, for a total value of $1,436,062.60. Following the sale, the chief operating officer now owns 10,416 shares in the company, valued at $2,376,931.20. This represents a 37.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, Director Katharine Weymouth sold 1,859 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owns 879 shares in the company, valued at $189,222.33. The trade was a 67.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Republic Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RSG. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new stake in Republic Services during the third quarter worth $25,000. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI boosted its holdings in Republic Services by 200.0% during the fourth quarter. Arcadia Investment Management Corp MI now owns 132 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $27,000 after buying an additional 88 shares in the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new stake in Republic Services during the fourth quarter worth $32,000. Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new stake in Republic Services during the third quarter worth $34,000. Finally, New Age Alpha Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in 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 buying an additional 73 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

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.