Waste Management (NYSE:WM) Posts Earnings Results, Beats Expectations By $0.23 EPS

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday. The business services provider reported $1.75 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.52 by $0.23, Briefing.com reports. Waste Management had a return on equity of 38.61% and a net margin of 11.98%. The business had revenue of $5.16 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.22 billion. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.31 EPS. The firm’s revenue was up 5.5% on a year-over-year basis. Waste Management updated its FY 2024 guidance to EPS.

Waste Management Stock Performance

Shares of NYSE WM opened at $210.07 on Friday. Waste Management has a one year low of $149.71 and a one year high of $214.54. The company has a current ratio of 0.89, a quick ratio of 0.86 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.23. The business has a fifty day simple moving average of $208.54 and a 200 day simple moving average of $186.87. The firm has a market capitalization of $84.30 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.38, a PEG ratio of 3.23 and a beta of 0.72.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 15th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.43%. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, March 14th. This is a positive change from Waste Management’s previous quarterly dividend of $0.70. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 49.10%.

Analyst Ratings Changes

A number of research firms have issued reports on WM. Raymond James lifted their target price on shares of Waste Management from $219.00 to $229.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday. Truist Financial lifted their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $220.00 to $240.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday. Stifel Nicolaus increased their target price on shares of Waste Management from $215.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Friday. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Waste Management from $165.00 to $197.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Thursday, February 15th. Finally, StockNews.com raised shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, April 9th. Eight research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $214.21.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 3,275 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, February 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $199.49, for a total value of $653,329.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now owns 36,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $7,262,034.47. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through the SEC website. In related news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 3,275 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.49, for a total value of $653,329.75. Following the sale, the executive vice president now owns 36,403 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $7,262,034.47. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Also, SVP Christopher P. Desantis sold 346 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, February 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $199.64, for a total value of $69,075.44. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 8,218 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,640,641.52. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 18,007 shares of company stock valued at $3,696,520 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Waste Management Company Profile

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.