Scotiabank Initiates Coverage on Republic Services (NYSE:RSG)

Analysts at Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) in a research report issued to clients and investors on Friday, MarketBeat.com reports. The brokerage set a “sector perform” rating and a $224.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock. Scotiabank’s target price points to a potential upside of 11.63% from the company’s previous close.

RSG has been the subject of several other reports. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $209.00 to $211.00 and gave the company a “market perform” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 25th. CIBC upped their price target on shares of Republic Services from $196.00 to $208.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Oppenheimer decreased their price objective on Republic Services from $211.00 to $210.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. TD Cowen raised their target price on Republic Services from $195.00 to $200.00 and gave the stock a “hold” rating in a report on Monday, August 5th. Finally, Raymond James decreased their price target on Republic Services from $219.00 to $214.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Ten research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $211.65.

Republic Services Stock Down 0.6 %

RSG stock opened at $200.67 on Friday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. Republic Services has a 52 week low of $141.80 and a 52 week high of $208.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.02 billion, a PE ratio of 35.21, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.69. The firm has a 50 day moving average of $202.55 and a 200 day moving average of $194.91.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.61 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.03 billion. Republic Services had a return on equity of 17.81% and a net margin of 12.11%. Sell-side analysts forecast that Republic Services will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Republic Services

In related news, Director Tomago Collins sold 3,200 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.01, for a total transaction of $649,632.00. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 17,486 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,549,832.86. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Republic Services

Large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Unigestion Holding SA grew its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 2,178.2% in the fourth quarter. Unigestion Holding SA now owns 127,647 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $21,048,000 after purchasing an additional 122,044 shares during the period. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its position in shares of Republic Services by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 239,031 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $45,760,000 after buying an additional 19,414 shares during the period. Running Oak Capital LLC grew its position in Republic Services by 12.3% in the first quarter. Running Oak Capital LLC now owns 59,310 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $11,347,000 after acquiring an additional 6,475 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its stake in Republic Services by 32.8% during the first quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 94,296 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $18,052,000 after acquiring an additional 23,306 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Pinebridge Investments L.P. raised its position in Republic Services by 78.3% in the fourth quarter. Pinebridge Investments L.P. now owns 43,614 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $7,192,000 after purchasing an additional 19,156 shares during the period. 57.73% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.