Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Scotiabank Analyst Says

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) had its price target upped by Scotiabank from $233.00 to $250.00 in a report released on Tuesday morning,Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a sector perform rating on the business services provider’s stock.

RSG has been the topic of several other reports. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Republic Services from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price target on Republic Services from $239.00 to $265.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Republic Services in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Morgan Stanley increased their price target on Republic Services from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, February 14th. Finally, UBS Group lifted their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $212.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, February 19th. Five investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $238.50.

Republic Services Stock Performance

RSG opened at $239.88 on Tuesday. 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 business’s 50-day simple moving average is $232.75 and its 200 day simple moving average is $216.39. The firm has a market capitalization of $74.91 billion, a PE ratio of 36.96, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.62. Republic Services has a 52-week low of $180.92 and a 52-week high of $249.73.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $4.05 billion during 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 quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.41 EPS. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Republic Services will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be paid a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is currently 35.75%.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Republic Services news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the 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 sale, the chief operating officer now directly 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 sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Republic Services

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. HighTower Advisors LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 1.5% in the 3rd quarter. HighTower Advisors LLC now owns 27,359 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $5,488,000 after purchasing an additional 406 shares in the last quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC lifted its position in shares of Republic Services by 89.5% during the 3rd quarter. Kovitz Investment Group Partners LLC now owns 6,184 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,242,000 after buying an additional 2,920 shares during the last quarter. XTX Topco Ltd acquired a new stake in Republic Services in the third quarter valued at about $388,000. First National Bank of Omaha acquired a new position in Republic Services during the third quarter worth about $201,000. Finally, Barclays PLC lifted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 11.0% in the third quarter. Barclays PLC now owns 675,163 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $135,598,000 after acquiring an additional 66,842 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Republic Services Company Profile

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.