Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) Given Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) have been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the seventeen ratings firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Five analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eleven have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $236.88.

RSG has been the subject of a number of research analyst reports. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Republic Services from $239.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Argus set a $260.00 price objective on Republic Services in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on Republic Services from $240.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. BMO Capital Markets raised Republic Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the company from $211.00 to $238.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, UBS Group raised their price objective on Republic Services from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th.

Republic Services Stock Up 0.1 %

Shares of Republic Services stock opened at $234.79 on Friday. The company’s 50 day moving average price is $224.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $212.44. Republic Services has a 52-week low of $180.92 and a 52-week high of $240.95. The stock has a market capitalization of $73.32 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.73. 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 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.21. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 12.74%. The company had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.08 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. Equities research analysts forecast that Republic Services will post 6.86 EPS for the current year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of Republic Services stock in a transaction dated 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 completion of the sale, the chief operating officer now directly owns 10,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,376,931.20. This trade represents a 37.66 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Republic Services

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of RSG. Norges Bank bought a new stake in Republic Services in the 4th quarter worth about $553,039,000. Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Republic Services by 437.9% during 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 during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP grew its stake in shares of Republic Services by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,004,199 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,205,883,000 after purchasing an additional 1,131,850 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Republic Services during the 4th quarter valued at about $184,827,000. Finally, Nordea Investment Management AB grew its stake in shares of Republic Services by 19.4% during the 4th quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,129,322 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $626,553,000 after purchasing an additional 509,116 shares during the period. 57.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.