Zacks Research Cuts Earnings Estimates for Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) – Investment analysts at Zacks Research dropped their Q4 2026 earnings per share estimates for shares of Waste Management in a research note issued to investors on Wednesday, February 19th. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now forecasts that the business services provider will post earnings of $1.90 per share for the quarter, down from their previous forecast of $1.91. The consensus estimate for Waste Management’s current full-year earnings is $7.70 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Waste Management’s FY2027 earnings at $9.01 EPS.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%.

A number of other analysts have also recently commented on WM. William Blair reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 31st. CIBC lifted their price objective on Waste Management from $228.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley lifted their price target on Waste Management from $227.00 to $235.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group lowered their price target on Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, Scotiabank lifted their price target on Waste Management from $250.00 to $255.00 and gave the company a “sector outperform” rating in a report on Monday, February 3rd. Nine equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have assigned a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Waste Management presently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $235.94.

Waste Management Trading Down 0.5 %

Waste Management stock opened at $227.89 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $91.63 billion, a PE ratio of 33.51, a P/E/G ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.78. The stock has a 50-day moving average price of $213.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $213.07. Waste Management has a 52 week low of $196.59 and a 52 week high of $230.39. The company has a current ratio of 0.76, a quick ratio of 0.85 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

Institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Activest Wealth Management raised its position in shares of Waste Management by 4,000.0% in the 3rd quarter. Activest Wealth Management now owns 123 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $26,000 after purchasing an additional 120 shares in the last quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its holdings in shares of Waste Management by 892.9% in the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $28,000 after acquiring an additional 125 shares during the last quarter. Transce3nd LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $28,000. General Partner Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $29,000. Finally, Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Rafael Carrasco sold 4,000 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 7th. The stock was sold at an average price of $225.89, for a total transaction of $903,560.00. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 18,531 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $4,185,967.59. The trade was a 17.75 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, SVP Johnson Varkey sold 560 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, January 31st. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.11, for a total value of $123,261.60. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 9,152 shares in the company, valued at $2,014,446.72. This trade represents a 5.77 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 16,055 shares of company stock valued at $3,578,340. Corporate insiders own 0.18% of the company’s stock.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be issued a dividend of $0.825 per share. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 1.45%. This is a boost from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 44.12%.

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.