Royal Bank of Canada Upgrades Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) to “Outperform”

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) was upgraded by equities research analysts at Royal Bank of Canada from a “sector perform” rating to an “outperform” rating in a report issued on Monday, MarketBeat Ratings reports. The brokerage currently has a $237.00 target price on the business services provider’s stock, up from their previous target price of $219.00. Royal Bank of Canada’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 16.62% from the stock’s current price.

RSG has been the subject of a number of other reports. Truist Financial upped their price target on shares of Republic Services from $220.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. CIBC lifted their price target on Republic Services from $217.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research report on Tuesday, December 10th. Oppenheimer upped their target price on shares of Republic Services from $219.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Republic Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their price target for the stock from $211.00 to $238.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and thirteen have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $221.12.

Republic Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RSG opened at $203.22 on Monday. The stock has a market capitalization of $63.64 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.52, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.73. The business has a 50-day moving average of $208.37 and a two-hundred day moving average of $203.76. Republic Services has a fifty-two week low of $162.27 and a fifty-two 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.

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

Insider Buying and Selling at Republic Services

In related news, CFO Brian M. Delghiaccio sold 5,071 shares of the firm’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 completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,326,906.36. This trade represents a 44.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Katharine Weymouth sold 1,859 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.27, for a total value of $400,186.93. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 879 shares in the company, valued at approximately $189,222.33. This represents a 67.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Republic Services

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in RSG. Foundations Investment Advisors LLC bought a new position in shares of Republic Services in the 2nd quarter valued at about $203,000. Private Advisor Group LLC boosted its stake in Republic Services by 5.2% in the second quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 18,068 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,511,000 after acquiring an additional 885 shares during the last quarter. Candriam S.C.A. bought a new stake in shares of Republic Services during the 2nd quarter valued at $201,000. Strategic Financial Concepts LLC acquired a new position in shares of Republic Services in the 2nd quarter valued at $97,000. Finally, Caprock Group LLC boosted its position in shares of Republic Services by 172.1% in the 2nd quarter. Caprock Group LLC now owns 3,959 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $769,000 after purchasing an additional 2,504 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

About Republic Services

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.