Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) Reaches New 12-Month High – What’s Next?

Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) shares reached a new 52-week high on Thursday . The stock traded as high as $241.00 and last traded at $240.75, with a volume of 191075 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $237.75.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages have recently issued reports on RSG. CIBC raised Republic Services from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $264.00 target price on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. BMO Capital Markets raised shares of Republic Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $211.00 to $238.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. Morgan Stanley increased their target price on Republic Services from $220.00 to $230.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, February 14th. The Goldman Sachs Group lifted their price target on Republic Services from $239.00 to $265.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised Republic Services from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research note on Monday, January 6th. Five equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $236.88.

Republic Services Price Performance

The company has a market capitalization of $74.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.73, a P/E/G ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.73. The company’s 50-day simple moving average is $226.67 and its 200 day simple moving average is $213.33. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.58 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last posted its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.21. The company had revenue of $4.05 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.08 billion. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.28% and a net margin of 12.74%. During the same period last year, the company earned $1.41 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Stockholders of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a $0.58 dividend. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.97%. The ex-dividend date is Wednesday, April 2nd. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio is 35.75%.

Insider Transactions at Republic Services

In other news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.20, for a total transaction of $1,436,062.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 10,416 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,376,931.20. This represents a 37.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Republic Services

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. 111 Capital acquired a new stake in Republic Services during the fourth quarter worth $677,000. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC boosted its position in shares of Republic Services by 0.6% during the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 287,324 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $57,804,000 after acquiring an additional 1,610 shares in the last quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC increased its stake in Republic Services by 0.9% in the fourth quarter. NorthCrest Asset Manangement LLC now owns 42,144 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $8,479,000 after acquiring an additional 373 shares during the period. PKO Investment Management Joint Stock Co bought a new position in Republic Services during the fourth quarter worth about $2,363,000. Finally, Capstone Triton Financial Group LLC boosted its holdings in Republic Services by 1.9% during the fourth quarter. Capstone Triton Financial Group LLC now owns 7,622 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,533,000 after purchasing an additional 142 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Republic Services Company Profile

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.