Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) Stock Price Expected to Rise, Jefferies Financial Group Analyst Says

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) had its price objective upped by investment analysts at Jefferies Financial Group from $235.00 to $244.00 in a research note issued on Thursday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “buy” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Jefferies Financial Group’s target price would suggest a potential upside of 14.94% from the company’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on RSG. Oppenheimer raised their price target on Republic Services from $219.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Republic Services in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. CIBC increased their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $217.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley raised their price target on Republic Services from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised shares of Republic Services from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Six equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have assigned a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $222.24.

Republic Services Price Performance

NYSE:RSG traded down $0.20 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $212.28. The stock had a trading volume of 654,341 shares, compared to its average volume of 992,320. The stock has a market capitalization of $66.47 billion, a PE ratio of 33.96, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.73. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $209.32 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $204.93. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.64. Republic Services has a 52 week low of $168.58 and a 52 week high of $220.58.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $1.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.20. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 18.18%. The firm had revenue of $4.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.54 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts anticipate that Republic Services will post 6.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Republic Services

In related news, Director Katharine Weymouth sold 1,859 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.27, for a total value of $400,186.93. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 879 shares in the company, valued at approximately $189,222.33. The trade was a 67.90 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CFO Brian M. Delghiaccio sold 5,071 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.02, for a total transaction of $1,065,011.42. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,326,906.36. This trade represents a 44.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Republic Services

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in RSG. FSA Wealth Management LLC purchased a new position in shares of Republic Services in the third quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC boosted its holdings in Republic Services by 351.6% in the third quarter. Wolff Wiese Magana LLC now owns 140 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after purchasing an additional 109 shares during the period. Webster Bank N. A. purchased a new stake in Republic Services during the 3rd quarter worth about $31,000. R Squared Ltd acquired a new stake in Republic Services in the 4th quarter valued at about $32,000. Finally, Truvestments Capital LLC purchased a new position in Republic Services in the third quarter worth approximately $34,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.