StockNews.com Downgrades Waste Management (NYSE:WM) to Buy

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) was downgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a note issued to investors on Saturday.

Other research analysts also recently issued reports about the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Argus raised their target price on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, October 31st. UBS Group upped their target price on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. raised their price target on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Truist Financial upped their price objective on Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Ten investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $230.72.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Waste Management stock opened at $201.65 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00. The stock has a 50 day moving average of $215.72 and a 200-day moving average of $211.52. The stock has a market cap of $80.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 30.83, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.36 and a beta of 0.75. Waste Management has a 52 week low of $176.68 and a 52 week high of $230.39.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. The company had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $1.63 EPS. On average, analysts expect that Waste Management will post 7.32 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $834,946.25. The trade was a 7.41 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

A number of institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Activest Wealth Management raised its stake in Waste Management by 4,000.0% during the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares during the period. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates raised its position in Waste Management by 892.9% during the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. General Partner Inc. purchased a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Fairway Wealth LLC boosted its position in Waste Management by 62.9% during the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 171 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after acquiring an additional 66 shares during the period. Finally, Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Waste Management during the 2nd quarter valued at about $36,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Company Profile

Waste Management, Inc, through its subsidiaries, engages in the provision of environmental solutions to residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers in the United States and Canada. It offers collection services, including picking up and transporting waste and recyclable materials from where it was generated to a transfer station, material recovery facility (MRF), or disposal site; and owns and operates transfer stations, as well as owns, develops, and operates landfill facilities that produce landfill gas used as renewable natural gas for generating electricity.