Scotiabank Predicts Reduced Earnings for Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) – Equities research analysts at Scotiabank dropped their FY2026 EPS estimates for Waste Management in a report issued on Monday, November 2nd. Scotiabank analyst K. Gupta now expects that the business services provider will earn $8.12 per share for the year, down from their prior forecast of $8.15. Scotiabank has a “Sector Perform” rating and a $260.00 price target on the stock. The consensus estimate for Waste Management’s current full-year earnings is $8.05 per share. Scotiabank also issued estimates for Waste Management’s FY2027 earnings at $9.10 EPS.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. UBS Group upped their target price on Waste Management from $270.00 to $280.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday, October 30th. Barclays raised their price target on Waste Management from $277.00 to $283.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on Waste Management from $252.00 to $261.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, July 30th. Raymond James Financial set a $251.00 price objective on shares of Waste Management in a report on Thursday, October 29th. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Thursday, October 29th. Fourteen equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and six have given a Hold rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $257.89.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM opened at $241.41 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.82, a quick ratio of 0.78 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21. The firm has a market cap of $96.00 billion, a PE ratio of 31.68, a P/E/G ratio of 3.10 and a beta of 0.38. Waste Management has a 12 month low of $197.47 and a 12 month high of $248.13. The stock has a fifty day moving average price of $219.02 and a 200-day moving average price of $225.51.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings results on Tuesday, October 27th. The business services provider reported $2.15 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $2.18 by ($0.03). The firm had revenue of $6.85 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $6.81 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 31.97% and a net margin of 11.78%. Waste Management’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $1.98 earnings per share.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the company. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators boosted its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 8.6% in the 3rd quarter. PBU The Pension Fund of Early Childhood & Youth Educators now owns 83,310 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $16,989,000 after acquiring an additional 6,593 shares during the last quarter. Nikulski Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 4.3% during the third quarter. Nikulski Financial Inc. now owns 18,468 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $3,766,000 after purchasing an additional 765 shares during the last quarter. R Squared Ltd purchased a new position in shares of Waste Management during the third quarter worth $834,000. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System lifted its position in Waste Management by 15.1% during the third quarter. Maryland State Retirement & Pension System now owns 23,076 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $4,706,000 after purchasing an additional 3,036 shares during the period. Finally, UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp lifted its position in Waste Management by 10.5% during the third quarter. UNIVEST FINANCIAL Corp now owns 14,979 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,055,000 after purchasing an additional 1,420 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO John Carroll sold 1,365 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, September 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $219.90, for a total value of $300,163.50. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 3,509 shares in the company, valued at $771,629.10. This trade represents a 28.01% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, September 25th. Investors of record on Friday, September 11th were given a $0.9450 dividend. This represents a $3.78 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.6%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, September 11th. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is presently 49.61%.

Waste Management Company Profile

Waste Management, Inc, doing business as WM (NYSE:WM), is an environmental services company that provides waste collection, transportation, disposal, recycling and resource-recovery services. The company serves residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers through a network of collection operations, transfer stations, landfills, recycling facilities and other environmental infrastructure.

WM’s services include curbside and commercial waste collection, construction and demolition debris management, recycling, organics processing and landfill disposal.