UBS Group Increases Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) Price Target to $240.00

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) had its price objective hoisted by UBS Group from $212.00 to $240.00 in a research report released on Wednesday morning,Benzinga reports. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the business services provider’s stock.

RSG has been the topic of several other reports. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $219.00 to $237.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Republic Services from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on shares of Republic Services from $239.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday. Oppenheimer raised their price target 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. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Republic Services in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.75.

Republic Services Stock Performance

RSG opened at $230.73 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04. The company has a market cap of $72.05 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 35.55, a PEG ratio of 3.62 and a beta of 0.74. Republic Services has a 52-week low of $180.91 and a 52-week high of $232.52. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $212.87 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $208.51.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.74% and a return on equity of 18.28%. During the same period last year, the firm posted $1.41 earnings per share. Equities analysts anticipate 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 given a dividend of $0.58 per share. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.01%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 35.75%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Republic Services

In other Republic Services news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of Republic Services stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.20, for a total transaction 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 $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 is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Katharine Weymouth sold 1,859 shares of Republic Services stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.27, for a total transaction of $400,186.93. Following the sale, the director now owns 879 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $189,222.33. This represents a 67.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Ascent Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 7.4% in the fourth quarter. Ascent Group LLC now owns 4,865 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $979,000 after purchasing an additional 336 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 4.4% in the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 298,648 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $60,082,000 after purchasing an additional 12,660 shares in the last quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank grew its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 7.3% in the fourth quarter. Toronto Dominion Bank now owns 113,252 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $22,784,000 after purchasing an additional 7,735 shares in the last quarter. GTS Securities LLC grew its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 4.9% in the fourth quarter. GTS Securities LLC now owns 1,487 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $299,000 after purchasing an additional 69 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. lifted its stake in Republic Services by 69.4% in the fourth quarter. Vise Technologies Inc. now owns 3,691 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $743,000 after acquiring an additional 1,512 shares during 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.