StockNews.com Upgrades Waste Management (NYSE:WM) to Strong-Buy

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) was upgraded by stock analysts at StockNews.com from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday.

WM has been the topic of a number of other reports. Truist Financial increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $235.00 to $250.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Oppenheimer increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Robert W. Baird cut their target price on shares of Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Eleven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have assigned a buy rating and two have assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $226.11.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM traded up $2.57 on Wednesday, reaching $218.45. 2,905,177 shares of the company’s stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,621,547. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a current ratio of 0.89 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm has a market cap of $87.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.40, a P/E/G ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Management has a 52 week low of $168.73 and a 52 week high of $225.00. The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $209.76 and a 200-day simple moving average of $209.06.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last issued its earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. The firm 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 company’s quarterly revenue was up 7.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $1.63 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts predict that Waste Management will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the firm’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 completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $834,946.25. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 2nd quarter worth about $31,000. Fairway Wealth LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 62.9% in the 2nd quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 171 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after buying an additional 66 shares during the last quarter. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in Waste Management in the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC raised its position in Waste Management by 67.2% in the 2nd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 199 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after buying an additional 80 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

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.