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

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

Other equities analysts have also issued reports about the stock. The Goldman Sachs Group raised shares of Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Friday, July 26th. Oppenheimer increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $231.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research note on Tuesday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. CIBC increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $213.00 to $228.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Argus increased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $230.00 to $240.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, October 31st. Eleven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, ten have issued a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $226.11.

Waste Management Stock Performance

NYSE:WM traded up $2.57 during mid-day trading 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. Waste Management has a one year low of $168.73 and a one year high of $225.00. The firm has a market capitalization of $87.68 billion, a PE ratio of 33.40, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.26 and a beta of 0.74. The business’s fifty day simple moving average is $209.76 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $209.06. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.89 by $0.07. Waste Management had a net margin of 12.35% and a return on equity of 39.88%. The business had revenue of $5.61 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.51 billion. During the same period last year, the firm earned $1.63 earnings per share. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts anticipate that Waste Management will post 7.31 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total transaction of $66,795.70. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 3,875 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $834,946.25. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

A number of hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of WM. 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 boosted its holdings in shares of 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 shares of Waste Management in the 2nd quarter worth about $36,000. Fairscale Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 2nd quarter worth about $39,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its holdings in shares of 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. 80.40% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

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.