Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) Short Interest Update

Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) saw a significant decline in short interest in the month of November. As of November 30th, there was short interest totalling 2,120,000 shares, a decline of 17.2% from the November 15th total of 2,560,000 shares. Based on an average trading volume of 955,500 shares, the short-interest ratio is currently 2.2 days. Currently, 1.1% of the shares of the company are short sold.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the company. Oppenheimer upped their target price on Republic Services from $219.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “sector perform” rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 30th. William Blair began coverage on shares of Republic Services in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. BMO Capital Markets raised Republic Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and raised their target price for the company from $211.00 to $238.00 in a report on Friday, December 6th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price target for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a report on Tuesday, December 10th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $220.06.

Insider Transactions at Republic Services

In other Republic Services news, CFO Brian M. Delghiaccio sold 5,071 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated 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. The trade was a 44.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction 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 firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.27, for a total transaction of $400,186.93. Following the transaction, the director now directly owns 879 shares in the company, valued at $189,222.33. This represents a 67.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas bought a new stake in Republic Services in the third quarter worth approximately $7,157,000. Synovus Financial Corp increased its stake in shares of Republic Services by 1.9% in the 3rd quarter. Synovus Financial Corp now owns 14,233 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,859,000 after acquiring an additional 259 shares in the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC lifted its position in shares of Republic Services by 1,061.5% during the 3rd quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 122,331 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $24,569,000 after acquiring an additional 111,799 shares during the period. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in Republic Services during the third quarter worth $1,065,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC grew its holdings in Republic Services by 25.8% in the third quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,055 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $613,000 after purchasing an additional 626 shares during the period. 57.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Republic Services Stock Performance

Shares of Republic Services stock opened at $208.97 on Monday. The company’s fifty day moving average is $208.53 and its 200 day moving average is $201.98. Republic Services has a twelve month low of $160.65 and a twelve month high of $220.58. The stock has a market cap of $65.44 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 33.44, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a quick ratio of 0.64, a current ratio of 0.64 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.61 by $0.20. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.46% and a return on equity of 18.18%. The business had revenue of $4.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $1.54 EPS. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% compared to the same quarter last year. Sell-side analysts forecast that Republic Services will post 6.25 EPS for the current year.

Republic Services Announces Dividend

The firm also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be issued a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.11%. Republic Services’s payout ratio is currently 37.12%.

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.