Scotiabank Reduces Earnings Estimates for Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) – Stock analysts at Scotiabank cut their FY2027 earnings per share (EPS) estimates for shares of Waste Management in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, August 4th. Scotiabank analyst K. Gupta now forecasts that the business services provider will post earnings of $9.09 per share for the year, down from their previous forecast of $9.17. Scotiabank has a “Sector Perform” rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Waste Management’s current full-year earnings is $8.14 per share.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, July 28th. The business services provider reported $2.02 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.98 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $6.68 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.71 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.68% and a net margin of 11.11%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 4.0% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.92 EPS.

A number of other equities analysts have also commented on the stock. TD Cowen raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $270.00 to $275.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, April 30th. Royal Bank Of Canada increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $240.00 to $244.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 30th. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $265.00 to $270.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday. Wells Fargo & Company cut their price target on Waste Management from $273.00 to $268.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, April 30th. Finally, Weiss Ratings downgraded Waste Management from a “buy (b)” rating to a “buy (b-)” rating in a research report on Thursday, June 11th. Thirteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and seven have issued a Hold rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $258.89.

Waste Management Trading Up 2.2%

Shares of Waste Management stock opened at $229.14 on Friday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.24, a quick ratio of 0.87 and a current ratio of 0.91. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $226.36 and a 200-day moving average of $227.87. Waste Management has a 52-week low of $194.11 and a 52-week high of $248.13. The stock has a market cap of $91.59 billion, a PE ratio of 32.46, a PEG ratio of 2.76 and a beta of 0.44.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, June 18th. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 5th were given a $0.945 dividend. The ex-dividend date was Friday, June 5th. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 53.54%.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in WM. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth $10,206,000. Principal Financial Group Inc. grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 3.1% in the first quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 460,317 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $105,776,000 after purchasing an additional 14,003 shares during the last quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS increased its holdings in Waste Management by 18.5% in the fourth quarter. KLP Kapitalforvaltning AS now owns 236,153 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $51,885,000 after purchasing an additional 36,900 shares during the period. LBP AM SA raised its position in Waste Management by 24.1% during the 4th quarter. LBP AM SA now owns 46,640 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $10,247,000 after purchasing an additional 9,071 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Directional Asset Management acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth about $1,361,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

About Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc (NYSE: WM) is a leading provider of integrated waste management and environmental services in North America. The company offers end-to-end solutions that span collection, transfer, disposal and recycling, along with landfill operations and related infrastructure. Headquartered in Houston, Texas, Waste Management serves a broad customer base that includes residential, commercial, industrial and municipal clients.

Core services include curbside and commercial waste collection, roll-off and temporary container services, materials recovery and recycling, and engineered landfill disposal.