Argus Issues Positive Forecast for Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Stock Price

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) had its target price boosted by stock analysts at Argus from $230.00 to $240.00 in a report released on Thursday, Benzinga reports. The firm currently has a “buy” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Argus’ price objective would suggest a potential upside of 11.50% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also recently issued reports about the company. StockNews.com cut Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 9th. UBS Group upped their price objective on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Robert W. Baird decreased their price target on Waste Management from $226.00 to $216.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on Waste Management from $204.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. Finally, Scotiabank initiated coverage on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, October 4th. They issued a “sector perform” rating and a $220.00 target price on the stock. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $226.05.

Waste Management Stock Performance

WM stock traded up $0.43 during midday trading on Thursday, hitting $215.25. 199,324 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,614,923. Waste Management has a twelve month low of $162.03 and a twelve month high of $225.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $86.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.11, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.29 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $209.14 and a 200-day simple moving average of $208.72.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Monday, October 28th. The business services provider reported $1.96 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.89 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $5.61 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.51 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.52% and a net margin of 12.13%. The firm’s revenue was up 7.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm earned $1.63 EPS. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Waste Management will post 7.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Institutional Trading of Waste Management

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Thurston Springer Miller Herd & Titak Inc. bought a new position in shares of Waste Management during the second quarter worth approximately $31,000. Fairway Wealth LLC increased its position in shares of Waste Management by 62.9% in the second quarter. Fairway Wealth LLC now owns 171 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $36,000 after purchasing an additional 66 shares during the period. Strategic Investment Solutions Inc. IL bought a new stake in Waste Management during the second quarter worth about $36,000. Fairscale Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management in the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $39,000. Finally, Hexagon Capital Partners LLC boosted its position in shares of Waste Management by 67.2% during the 2nd quarter. Hexagon Capital Partners LLC now owns 199 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $42,000 after acquiring an additional 80 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 80.40% of the company’s stock.

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.