Republic Services, Inc. to Issue Quarterly Dividend of $0.58 (NYSE:RSG)

Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) announced a quarterly dividend on Wednesday, October 23rd,Zacks Dividends reports. Shareholders of record on Thursday, January 2nd will be given a dividend of 0.58 per share by the business services provider on Wednesday, January 15th. This represents a $2.32 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.15%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Thursday, January 2nd.

Republic Services has raised its dividend payment by an average of 7.5% annually over the last three years and has increased its dividend annually for the last 22 consecutive years. Republic Services has a payout ratio of 34.0% indicating that its dividend is sufficiently covered by earnings. Research analysts expect Republic Services to earn $6.83 per share next year, which means the company should continue to be able to cover its $2.32 annual dividend with an expected future payout ratio of 34.0%.

Republic Services Stock Performance

NYSE:RSG opened at $201.19 on Tuesday. Republic Services has a 1-year low of $162.27 and a 1-year high of $220.58. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $208.49 and a 200-day simple moving average of $203.34. The firm has a market cap of $63.00 billion, a PE ratio of 32.19, a P/E/G ratio of 3.30 and a beta of 0.71. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a current ratio of 0.64 and a quick ratio of 0.64.

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

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of research analysts have recently commented on RSG shares. William Blair started coverage on shares of Republic Services in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on shares of Republic Services from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. BMO Capital Markets raised Republic Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $211.00 to $238.00 in a research report on Friday, December 6th. Oppenheimer boosted their price target on Republic Services from $219.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft raised Republic Services from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have issued a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $220.06.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, CFO Brian M. Delghiaccio sold 5,071 shares of the 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 sale, the chief financial officer now owns 6,318 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,326,906.36. This trade represents a 44.53 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through 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 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 $189,222.33. The trade was a 67.90 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders own 0.09% of the company’s stock.

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.