Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Announces Earnings Results

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The business services provider reported $1.75 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.52 by $0.23, Briefing.com reports. The company had revenue of $5.16 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 36.51% and a net margin of 11.28%. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $1.31 earnings per share. Waste Management updated its FY 2024 guidance to EPS.

Waste Management Stock Down 0.7 %

Shares of WM stock traded down $1.54 during trading hours on Thursday, reaching $208.89. 439,937 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,650,125. The business’s fifty day moving average is $208.10 and its two-hundred day moving average is $186.32. The firm has a market capitalization of $83.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 37.18, a P/E/G ratio of 3.17 and a beta of 0.72. Waste Management has a 12-month low of $149.71 and a 12-month high of $214.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.86.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Investors of record on Friday, March 15th were paid a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.44%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 53.00%.

Insider Buying and Selling

In other Waste Management news, SVP Christopher P. Desantis sold 346 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.64, for a total value of $69,075.44. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,218 shares in the company, valued at $1,640,641.52. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The stock was sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total transaction of $523,750.00. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $6,217,331.50. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Christopher P. Desantis sold 346 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.64, for a total value of $69,075.44. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 8,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,640,641.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,007 shares of company stock worth $3,696,520 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities research analysts recently commented on WM shares. HSBC downgraded Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company. in a report on Thursday, February 15th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price target on Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Oppenheimer raised their price objective on Waste Management from $188.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus upped their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, February 14th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $204.85.

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.