Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Hits New 12-Month Low on Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) hit a new 52-week low on Monday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $240.00 to $225.00. UBS Group currently has a neutral rating on the stock. Waste Management traded as low as $195.56 and last traded at $194.7080, with a volume of 309408 shares. The stock had previously closed at $199.77.

Several other brokerages have also weighed in on WM. Weiss Ratings reissued a “buy (b)” rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Wednesday, October 8th. Barclays decreased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $271.00 to $266.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Truist Financial set a $260.00 price target on shares of Waste Management in a report on Wednesday. Citigroup lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $268.00 to $270.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 29th. Finally, National Bankshares cut their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $250.00 to $243.00 and set a “sector perform” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, October 7th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, thirteen have given a Buy rating and ten have issued a Hold rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $248.61.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WM. Brighton Jones LLC grew its stake in shares of Waste Management by 51.1% in the 4th quarter. Brighton Jones LLC now owns 6,861 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $1,384,000 after purchasing an additional 2,320 shares during the last quarter. Sprott Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Management during the first quarter valued at approximately $325,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 41.7% during the first quarter. Golden State Wealth Management LLC now owns 789 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $183,000 after purchasing an additional 232 shares in the last quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 2.5% during the first quarter. OneDigital Investment Advisors LLC now owns 16,367 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,789,000 after purchasing an additional 404 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC grew its position in Waste Management by 10.6% during the first quarter. Capital Investment Advisory Services LLC now owns 2,318 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $537,000 after purchasing an additional 222 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.36, a current ratio of 0.84 and a quick ratio of 0.82. The stock has a market capitalization of $78.68 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 30.77, a PEG ratio of 2.51 and a beta of 0.64. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $217.43 and its 200-day simple moving average is $226.26.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its earnings results on Monday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $1.98 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.01 by ($0.03). The business had revenue of $6.44 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $6.51 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 10.35% and a return on equity of 33.00%. Waste Management’s revenue was up 14.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.96 earnings per share. Waste Management has set its FY 2025 guidance at EPS. On average, analysts expect that Waste Management, Inc. will post 7.7 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 26th. Stockholders of record on Friday, September 12th were paid a $0.825 dividend. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.7%. The ex-dividend date was Friday, September 12th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 51.97%.

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.