Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) Hits New 52-Week High After Better-Than-Expected Earnings

Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Tuesday following a stronger than expected earnings report. The stock traded as high as $194.10 and last traded at $194.10, with a volume of 168313 shares traded. The stock had previously closed at $193.41.

The business services provider reported $1.45 earnings per share for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.35 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $3.86 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.89 billion. Republic Services had a net margin of 11.81% and a return on equity of 17.75%. The company’s revenue was up 7.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company earned $1.24 earnings per share.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, July 15th. Stockholders of record on Tuesday, July 2nd will be issued a $0.535 dividend. This represents a $2.14 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Tuesday, July 2nd. Republic Services’s payout ratio is currently 37.54%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on RSG. Morgan Stanley cut Republic Services from an “overweight” rating to an “equal weight” rating and set a $199.00 price objective on the stock. in a report on Friday, March 15th. Citigroup upped their price target on shares of Republic Services from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 29th. Oppenheimer lifted their price objective on Republic Services from $202.00 to $204.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Wednesday. The Goldman Sachs Group raised their price target on Republic Services from $209.00 to $230.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 16th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group boosted their price objective on Republic Services from $213.00 to $225.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $201.00.

Insider Activity at Republic Services

In other news, CEO Ark Jon Vander sold 5,446 shares of Republic Services stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 4th. The stock was sold at an average price of $184.10, for a total value of $1,002,608.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer now directly owns 85,113 shares in the company, valued at approximately $15,669,303.30. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. 0.09% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. boosted its position in shares of Republic Services by 0.7% during the third quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 6,658,978 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $948,971,000 after purchasing an additional 44,512 shares in the last quarter. Capital World Investors boosted its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 416.9% during the 4th quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 6,562,420 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,082,209,000 after buying an additional 5,292,862 shares in the last quarter. Morgan Stanley increased its stake in shares of Republic Services by 4.1% in the 3rd quarter. Morgan Stanley now owns 5,054,359 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $720,297,000 after acquiring an additional 197,654 shares in the last quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB boosted its stake in Republic Services by 2.9% during the third quarter. Nordea Investment Management AB now owns 3,790,052 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $547,473,000 after acquiring an additional 107,499 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC grew its holdings in Republic Services by 0.4% in the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 3,727,719 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $531,237,000 after purchasing an additional 13,166 shares during the period. 57.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Republic Services Stock Down 3.0 %

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.13, a current ratio of 0.56 and a quick ratio of 0.56. The firm has a market cap of $58.59 billion, a P/E ratio of 32.63, a P/E/G ratio of 3.35 and a beta of 0.67. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $187.94 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $171.57.

Republic Services Company Profile

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.