William Blair Reaffirms “Outperform” Rating for Republic Services (NYSE:RSG)

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG)‘s stock had its “outperform” rating reiterated by equities researchers at William Blair in a research note issued to investors on Friday,RTT News reports.

Several other analysts also recently issued reports on the company. Oppenheimer lifted their price target on Republic Services from $219.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Jefferies Financial Group lifted 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. Royal Bank of Canada raised Republic Services from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Morgan Stanley boosted their price target on Republic Services from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 12th. Six investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, Republic Services currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $225.00.

Republic Services Trading Up 2.5 %

Shares of NYSE:RSG traded up $5.69 during midday trading on Friday, hitting $230.18. The company had a trading volume of 184,844 shares, compared to its average volume of 945,775. Republic Services has a 12 month low of $177.03 and a 12 month high of $232.52. The company has a current ratio of 0.64, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07. The stock has a market cap of $72.08 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.86, a PEG ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.74. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $210.65 and a 200 day simple moving average of $207.06.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.21. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.18% and a net margin of 12.46%. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.41 EPS. On average, analysts predict that Republic Services will post 6.25 EPS for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Republic Services news, Director Katharine Weymouth sold 1,859 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.27, for a total transaction of $400,186.93. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 879 shares in the company, valued at approximately $189,222.33. This trade represents a 67.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Brian M. Delghiaccio sold 5,071 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.02, for a total value of $1,065,011.42. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,326,906.36. This represents a 44.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Republic Services

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. grew its stake in shares of Republic Services by 2.2% in the 4th quarter. McGlone Suttner Wealth Management Inc. now owns 2,213 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $445,000 after buying an additional 48 shares during the period. Simmons Bank lifted its position in Republic Services by 2.8% in the 3rd quarter. Simmons Bank now owns 1,895 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $381,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Access Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Republic Services by 0.8% in the 4th quarter. Access Financial Services Inc. now owns 6,178 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,243,000 after acquiring an additional 51 shares in the last quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. lifted its position in Republic Services by 1.0% in the 3rd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 5,099 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,024,000 after acquiring an additional 52 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its position in Republic Services by 16.5% in the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 382 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $77,000 after acquiring an additional 54 shares in the last quarter. 57.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.