Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Posts Quarterly Earnings Results, Misses Estimates By $0.09 EPS

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09), Zacks reports. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.88% and a net margin of 12.35%.

Waste Management Trading Up 5.2 %

WM traded up $10.80 on Thursday, hitting $220.35. 1,219,581 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,704,435. The stock has a market capitalization of $88.44 billion, a PE ratio of 33.64, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.77. Waste Management has a 12 month low of $184.72 and a 12 month high of $230.39. The firm has a fifty day simple moving average of $212.26 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $211.28. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a current ratio of 0.89.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 20th. Investors of record on Friday, December 6th were given a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, December 6th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a yield of 1.36%. Waste Management’s payout ratio is 45.87%.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WM. StockNews.com cut Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Saturday, January 4th. Morgan Stanley increased their price objective on Waste Management from $214.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price objective on Waste Management from $213.00 to $219.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. UBS Group increased their price objective on Waste Management from $220.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a report on Wednesday, October 30th. Finally, William Blair started coverage on Waste Management in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Nine investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $231.39.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, Director Maryrose Sylvester sold 310 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, November 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $215.47, for a total value of $66,795.70. Following the completion of the transaction, the director now owns 3,875 shares in the company, valued at $834,946.25. This trade represents a 7.41 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

About Waste Management

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.