Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) Given New $217.00 Price Target at Morgan Stanley

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) had its target price increased by Morgan Stanley from $208.00 to $217.00 in a research note issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has an “equal weight” rating on the business services provider’s stock. Morgan Stanley’s price objective points to a potential upside of 8.65% from the company’s current price.

RSG has been the subject of a number of other reports. Scotiabank started coverage on Republic Services in a report on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $224.00 price target for the company. Raymond James cut their price target on Republic Services from $219.00 to $214.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, July 25th. CIBC increased their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $196.00 to $208.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, July 25th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Republic Services from $215.00 to $230.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, July 25th. Finally, Oppenheimer raised their price target on shares of Republic Services from $219.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a report on Wednesday. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and ten have issued a buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Republic Services presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $215.71.

Republic Services Price Performance

RSG stock traded down $4.58 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $199.73. The company had a trading volume of 618,711 shares, compared to its average volume of 1,124,538. The company has a current ratio of 0.59, a quick ratio of 0.59 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.05. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $203.91 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $196.64. Republic Services has a fifty-two week low of $146.82 and a fifty-two week high of $208.69. The company has a market cap of $62.73 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.62, a P/E/G ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.69.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last announced its earnings results on Tuesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.62 by $0.19. The business had revenue of $4.08 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $4.12 billion. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.11% and a return on equity of 17.81%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the company posted $1.54 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Republic Services will post 6.18 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Transactions at Republic Services

In related news, Director Tomago Collins sold 3,200 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, August 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $203.01, for a total value of $649,632.00. Following the sale, the director now directly owns 17,486 shares in the company, valued at $3,549,832.86. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this link. Corporate insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System raised its holdings in Republic Services by 8.8% during the 1st quarter. State Board of Administration of Florida Retirement System now owns 239,031 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $45,760,000 after buying an additional 19,414 shares during the period. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. increased its holdings in Republic Services by 32.8% during the 1st quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 94,296 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $18,052,000 after purchasing an additional 23,306 shares in the last quarter. PGGM Investments raised its stake in shares of Republic Services by 264.3% in the 2nd quarter. PGGM Investments now owns 8,842 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $1,718,000 after purchasing an additional 6,415 shares during the period. Forsta AP Fonden boosted its position in shares of Republic Services by 11.7% during the first quarter. Forsta AP Fonden now owns 45,000 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,615,000 after buying an additional 4,700 shares during the period. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. raised its position in Republic Services by 0.6% in the 1st quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 18,254,878 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,494,714,000 after buying an additional 101,518 shares during the last quarter. 57.73% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

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.