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

Shares of Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) have earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the seventeen brokerages that are presently covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. Five investment 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. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $239.13.

Several equities research analysts recently weighed in on RSG shares. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on shares of Republic Services from $239.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Cibc World Mkts upgraded shares of Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded Republic Services from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their price target for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. UBS Group raised their price objective on Republic Services from $240.00 to $250.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Friday. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their target price on Republic Services from $235.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd.

Republic Services Stock Performance

RSG opened at $245.79 on Tuesday. The stock has a market capitalization of $76.76 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 37.87, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.62. Republic Services has a fifty-two week low of $180.92 and a fifty-two week high of $249.73. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.58. The company has a fifty day moving average of $233.74 and a 200 day moving average of $217.10.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last posted its 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. The company had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 12.74%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts forecast that Republic Services will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.94%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 35.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of Republic Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $228.20, for a total transaction of $1,436,062.60. Following the completion of the transaction, 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 ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Republic Services

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in RSG. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Republic Services during the fourth quarter worth $553,039,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Republic Services by 39,024.4% during the 1st quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,226,177 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $539,091,000 after acquiring an additional 2,220,487 shares during the period. Raymond James Financial Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Republic Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $184,827,000. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its position in Republic Services by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,129,322 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $626,553,000 after purchasing an additional 509,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD grew its holdings in Republic Services by 10.4% in the fourth quarter. Price T Rowe Associates Inc. MD now owns 5,317,804 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,069,836,000 after purchasing an additional 499,237 shares during the period. 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.