FY2026 EPS Estimates for Waste Management Cut by Scotiabank

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) – Equities researchers at Scotiabank cut their FY2026 earnings estimates for shares of Waste Management in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, March 19th. Scotiabank analyst K. Gupta now anticipates that the business services provider will post earnings of $8.77 per share for the year, down from their previous estimate of $9.14. Scotiabank currently has a “Sector Outperform” rating and a $255.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Waste Management’s current full-year earnings is $7.70 per share.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%.

A number of other research analysts have also recently weighed in on WM. Raymond James raised their price target on Waste Management from $235.00 to $237.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. CIBC increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, March 5th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research report on Friday, January 31st. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Waste Management from $242.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.65.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE WM opened at $227.26 on Monday. The business has a 50 day moving average price of $223.47 and a 200 day moving average price of $216.19. The company has a market capitalization of $91.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.42, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75. Waste Management has a 1-year low of $196.59 and a 1-year high of $235.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates lifted its stake in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% in the fourth quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $28,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares in the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth approximately $28,000. General Partner Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC acquired a new position in Waste Management during the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $34,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total transaction of $123,261.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,152 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,014,446.72. The trade was a 5.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 191 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.22, for a total transaction of $42,062.02. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 6,129 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,349,728.38. The trade was a 3.02 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Over the last 90 days, insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock worth $21,662,464. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 48.53%.

About Waste Management

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.