Waste Management (WM) to Release Earnings on Wednesday

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) is scheduled to post its quarterly earnings results after the market closes on Wednesday, April 24th. Analysts expect Waste Management to post earnings of $1.51 per share for the quarter. Persons interested in participating in the company’s earnings conference call can do so using this link.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, February 12th. The business services provider reported $1.74 EPS for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.53 by $0.21. Waste Management had a return on equity of 36.51% and a net margin of 11.28%. The company had revenue of $5.22 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.19 billion. During the same period last year, the company posted $1.30 earnings per share. On average, analysts expect Waste Management to post $7 EPS for the current fiscal year and $8 EPS for the next fiscal year.

Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $207.53 on Tuesday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.30, a current ratio of 0.90 and a quick ratio of 0.86. Waste Management has a 1-year low of $149.71 and a 1-year high of $214.54. The company has a market capitalization of $83.28 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.67, a PEG ratio of 3.14 and a beta of 0.72. The business has a 50-day moving average of $207.69 and a 200-day moving average of $185.78.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a $0.75 dividend. This represents a $3.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.45%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, March 14th. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is currently 53.00%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of research firms have recently commented on WM. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $226.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. HSBC cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and set a $210.00 price objective for the company. in a research report on Thursday, February 15th. UBS Group lowered Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and lifted their target price for the stock from $190.00 to $205.00 in a research report on Wednesday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus increased their price target on Waste Management from $190.00 to $215.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Wednesday, February 14th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $230.00 to $256.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, March 18th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $204.85.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Waste Management news, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total value of $65,326.24. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 5,522 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,096,448.32. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 2,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 28th. The shares were sold at an average price of $209.50, for a total transaction of $523,750.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 29,677 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $6,217,331.50. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, VP Donald J. Smith sold 329 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $198.56, for a total transaction of $65,326.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 5,522 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,096,448.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 18,007 shares of company stock valued at $3,696,520 over the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

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.