Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) Short Interest Down 17.2% in November

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

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Republic Services news, CFO Brian M. Delghiaccio sold 5,071 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, November 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $210.02, for a total value of $1,065,011.42. Following the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 6,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,326,906.36. This trade represents a 44.53 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. Also, Director Katharine Weymouth sold 1,859 shares of Republic Services stock in a transaction dated Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.27, for a total transaction of $400,186.93. Following the completion of the sale, the director now owns 879 shares in the company, valued at approximately $189,222.33. This represents a 67.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Republic Services

A number of institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Oddo BHF Asset Management Sas purchased a new stake in shares of Republic Services during the 3rd quarter worth about $7,157,000. Synovus Financial Corp lifted its stake in Republic Services by 1.9% in the third 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 during the last quarter. Tidal Investments LLC grew its position in Republic Services by 1,061.5% in the third quarter. Tidal Investments LLC now owns 122,331 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $24,569,000 after acquiring an additional 111,799 shares in the last quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB bought a new position in shares of Republic Services during the 3rd quarter valued at $1,065,000. Finally, World Investment Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Republic Services by 25.8% in the 3rd quarter. World Investment Advisors LLC now owns 3,055 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $613,000 after purchasing an additional 626 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 57.73% of the company’s stock.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several research firms have recently issued reports on RSG. Royal Bank of Canada increased their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $211.00 to $219.00 and gave the company a “sector perform” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. CIBC increased their price target on Republic Services from $217.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and boosted their price objective for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research note on Tuesday. Scotiabank assumed coverage on Republic Services in a research note on Friday, October 4th. They set a “sector perform” rating and a $224.00 target price for the company. Finally, Oppenheimer boosted their price target on shares of Republic Services from $219.00 to $220.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Seven investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $220.06.

Republic Services Price Performance

Shares of NYSE:RSG opened at $208.97 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $65.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.44, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.21 and a beta of 0.71. The company’s fifty day moving average is $208.53 and its two-hundred day moving average is $201.71. 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 has a 12-month low of $160.65 and a 12-month high of $220.58.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Tuesday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $1.81 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $1.61 by $0.20. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.18% and a net margin of 12.46%. The firm had revenue of $4.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.12 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $1.54 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.5% on a year-over-year basis. Equities analysts expect that Republic Services will post 6.25 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, January 15th. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be paid a $0.58 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, January 2nd. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.11%. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio is presently 37.12%.

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.