Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) Reaches New 1-Year High – Time to Buy?

Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE:RSG) hit a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $241.00 and last traded at $240.75, with a volume of 191075 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $237.75.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities research analysts have recently commented on RSG shares. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on shares of Republic Services from $240.00 to $257.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Truist Financial restated a “buy” rating and issued a $250.00 price target (up from $244.00) on shares of Republic Services in a research report on Friday, February 14th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded shares of Republic Services from a “market perform” rating to an “outperform” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $211.00 to $238.00 in a research note on Friday, December 6th. CIBC upgraded Republic Services from a “neutral” rating to a “sector outperform” rating and set a $264.00 price target on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 4th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Republic Services from $235.00 to $244.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Five research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twelve have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $236.88.

Republic Services Price Performance

The company’s 50-day moving average is $226.67 and its two-hundred day moving average is $213.33. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a current ratio of 0.58 and a quick ratio of 0.64. The firm has a market cap of $74.44 billion, a P/E ratio of 36.73, a PEG ratio of 3.64 and a beta of 0.73.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.58 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.37 by $0.21. The business had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.08 billion. Republic Services had a net margin of 12.74% and a return on equity of 18.28%. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.41 earnings per share. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Republic Services, Inc. will post 6.86 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Republic Services Dividend Announcement

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Tuesday, April 15th. Investors of record on Wednesday, April 2nd will be given a dividend of $0.58 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Wednesday, April 2nd. This represents a $2.32 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 0.97%. Republic Services’s dividend payout ratio is currently 35.75%.

Insider Activity

In other news, COO Gregg Brummer sold 6,293 shares of Republic Services stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $228.20, for a total transaction of $1,436,062.60. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now owns 10,416 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,376,931.20. The trade was a 37.66 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Republic Services

Several hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. grew its stake in shares of Republic Services by 37.5% in the 4th quarter. Mirae Asset Global Investments Co. Ltd. now owns 17,682 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $3,586,000 after buying an additional 4,827 shares during the period. TCW Group Inc. grew its stake in Republic Services by 13.0% in the third quarter. TCW Group Inc. now owns 114,582 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $23,013,000 after acquiring an additional 13,138 shares during the period. Avanza Fonder AB bought a new stake in shares of Republic Services during the fourth quarter valued at approximately $4,430,000. Czech National Bank raised its position in shares of Republic Services by 6.1% during the fourth quarter. Czech National Bank now owns 44,134 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $8,879,000 after purchasing an additional 2,548 shares during the period. Finally, Hickory Point Bank & Trust bought a new position in shares of Republic Services in the 4th quarter worth $790,000. Institutional investors own 57.73% 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.