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

Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) has received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twenty-two research firms that are currently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eleven have assigned a buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $243.2632.

RSG has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays upped their price target on shares of Republic Services from $227.00 to $233.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, May 11th. Weiss Ratings cut shares of Republic Services from a “buy (b-)” rating to a “hold (c+)” rating in a report on Wednesday, April 29th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price target on shares of Republic Services from $233.00 to $245.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Friday, April 10th. Wells Fargo & Company upped their price target on shares of Republic Services from $238.00 to $252.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Wednesday, March 18th. Finally, Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce reaffirmed an “outperform” rating and issued a $249.00 price target on shares of Republic Services in a report on Friday, May 8th.

Republic Services Trading Down 1.2%

RSG opened at $204.87 on Friday. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.03 billion, a PE ratio of 29.39, a P/E/G ratio of 3.41 and a beta of 0.41. The firm’s fifty day moving average price is $207.69 and its 200 day moving average price is $214.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.11, a current ratio of 0.67 and a quick ratio of 0.67. Republic Services has a 12-month low of $196.41 and a 12-month high of $251.17.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Friday, May 8th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.64 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $4.11 billion for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.10 billion. Republic Services had a net margin of 13.00% and a return on equity of 18.57%. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 2.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $1.58 earnings per share. As a group, research analysts expect that Republic Services will post 7.28 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, July 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, July 2nd will be paid a dividend of $0.625 per share. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, July 2nd. This represents a $2.50 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.2%. Republic Services’s payout ratio is presently 36.15%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Republic Services

In other Republic Services news, Director Sandra M. Volpe sold 1,800 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, June 11th. The shares were sold at an average price of $211.28, for a total transaction of $380,304.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 58 shares in the company, valued at $12,254.24. The trade was a 96.88% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, major shareholder Cascade Investment, L.L.C. bought 60,700 shares of the stock in a transaction on Monday, May 18th. The shares were acquired at an average price of $213.31 per share, with a total value of $12,947,917.00. Following the purchase, the insider owned 110,803,982 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $23,635,597,400.42. The trade was a 0.05% increase in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this purchase is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have acquired 987,150 shares of company stock valued at $202,366,682. 0.12% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Republic Services

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in RSG. Brighton Jones LLC increased its stake in Republic Services by 75.8% during the fourth quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 19,822 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,988,000 after purchasing an additional 8,547 shares during the last quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. grew its position in shares of Republic Services by 23.2% during the second quarter. Federated Hermes Inc. now owns 17,553 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $4,329,000 after acquiring an additional 3,303 shares during the last quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC grew its position in shares of Republic Services by 3.6% during the second quarter. NewEdge Advisors LLC now owns 29,690 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,322,000 after acquiring an additional 1,044 shares during the last quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina grew its position in shares of Republic Services by 0.7% during the second quarter. Treasurer of the State of North Carolina now owns 94,626 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $23,336,000 after acquiring an additional 688 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Ieq Capital LLC grew its position in shares of Republic Services by 68.4% during the second quarter. Ieq Capital LLC now owns 11,643 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $2,871,000 after acquiring an additional 4,729 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

About Republic Services

Republic Services, Inc is a leading provider of non-hazardous solid waste and recycling services in the United States. The company offers a broad range of waste management solutions to residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers, positioning itself as a full-service partner for everyday waste collection as well as specialized disposal needs.

Republic’s core operations include curbside and commercial collection, transfer and hauling, materials recovery and recycling facilities, and landfill disposal.