Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) Given New $244.00 Price Target at Jefferies Financial Group

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

Several other research firms have also weighed in on RSG. William Blair assumed coverage on shares of Republic Services in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Royal Bank of Canada upgraded shares of Republic Services from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and upped their target price for the company from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Scotiabank began coverage on shares of Republic Services in a report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $224.00 target price on the stock. Oppenheimer raised their target price on shares of Republic Services from $219.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised shares of Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have given a buy rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Republic Services has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $222.24.

Republic Services Stock Down 0.1 %

RSG traded down $0.20 on Thursday, reaching $212.28. 654,341 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 992,320. Republic Services has a 52-week low of $168.58 and a 52-week high of $220.58. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The company has a market cap of $66.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.96, a PEG ratio of 3.11 and a beta of 0.73. The stock’s 50 day moving average price is $209.32 and its 200-day moving average price is $204.93.

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

Insider Buying and Selling

In other news, Director Katharine Weymouth sold 1,859 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.27, for a total transaction of $400,186.93. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 879 shares in the company, valued at approximately $189,222.33. This represents a 67.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, CFO Brian M. Delghiaccio sold 5,071 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $210.02, for a total value 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 $1,326,906.36. The trade was a 44.53 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Republic Services

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Stifel Financial Corp raised its position in shares of Republic Services by 437.9% in the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,814,613 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $364,449,000 after purchasing an additional 1,477,255 shares during the last quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP raised its holdings in Republic Services by 23.2% in the third quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,004,199 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,205,883,000 after buying an additional 1,131,850 shares during the last quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 83,671.9% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 538,653 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $108,183,000 after buying an additional 538,010 shares during the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB increased its position in shares of Republic Services by 19.4% during the fourth quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,129,322 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $626,553,000 after acquiring an additional 509,116 shares in the last quarter. Finally, National Bank of Canada FI lifted its position in Republic Services by 544.7% in the 3rd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 545,613 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $109,580,000 after acquiring an additional 460,989 shares in the last quarter. 57.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.