Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Announces Quarterly Earnings Results, Beats Estimates By $0.23 EPS

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) issued its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23, Briefing.com reports. The firm had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.22 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 11.98%. Waste Management’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the firm posted $1.31 earnings per share. Waste Management updated its FY 2024 guidance to EPS.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of WM stock opened at $210.07 on Friday. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.38, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.72. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $208.54 and a 200 day moving average price of $186.87. Waste Management has a one year low of $149.71 and a one year high of $214.54. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a current ratio of 0.89.

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 issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.43%. This is an increase from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 49.10%.

Insider Activity

In related news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total value of $65,326.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now directly owns 5,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,096,448.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. In other news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 3,275 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.49, for a total value of $653,329.75. Following the completion of the sale, the executive vice president now owns 36,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,262,034.47. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total transaction of $65,326.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,096,448.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold 18,007 shares of company stock valued at $3,696,520 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research firms have recently issued reports on WM. BMO Capital Markets lifted their price target on Waste Management from $207.00 to $212.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a research note on Friday. StockNews.com raised shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, April 9th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, Citigroup increased their target price on Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Eight analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $214.21.

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.