Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) Upgraded to Overweight at JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) was upgraded by analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating in a research report issued on Wednesday, FinViz reports. The brokerage currently has a $295.00 price target on the business services provider’s stock, up from their prior price target of $265.00. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price target would suggest a potential upside of 19.23% from the stock’s previous close.

A number of other brokerages also recently issued reports on RSG. Royal Bank Of Canada boosted their price objective on Republic Services from $272.00 to $277.00 and gave the company an “outperform” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. Oppenheimer reiterated an “outperform” rating on shares of Republic Services in a report on Friday, October 30th. Scotiabank reissued a “sector perform” rating and issued a $236.00 price target on shares of Republic Services in a research note on Thursday, October 15th. Sanford C. Bernstein increased their price target on Republic Services from $220.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “market perform” rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Citigroup raised their price objective on shares of Republic Services from $259.00 to $281.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Monday, November 2nd. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating and eight have issued a Hold rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $250.89.

Republic Services Price Performance

RSG stock opened at $247.43 on Wednesday. The company has a quick ratio of 0.75, a current ratio of 0.75 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.14. The firm has a market cap of $75.38 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 34.22, a PEG ratio of 4.10 and a beta of 0.32. The company’s fifty day simple moving average is $225.95 and its 200 day simple moving average is $218.01. Republic Services has a 12-month low of $196.41 and a 12-month high of $254.39.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, October 29th. The business services provider reported $1.94 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.93 by $0.01. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.56% and a net margin of 12.93%. The firm had revenue of $4.56 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $4.42 billion. During the same period last year, the business posted $1.90 EPS. The business’s revenue was up 8.2% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, analysts expect that Republic Services will post 7.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity

In related news, major shareholder Cascade Investment, L.L.C. acquired 409,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, September 8th. The shares were bought at an average price of $221.49 per share, with a total value of $90,700,155.00. Following the transaction, the insider directly owned 116,166,330 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $25,729,680,431.70. This trade represents a 0.35% increase in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Over the last quarter, insiders have bought 5,578,298 shares of company stock worth $1,234,519,081. 0.12% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. BlackRock Inc. bought a new position in Republic Services in the second quarter worth approximately $3,798,092,000. State Street Corp increased its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 1.6% during the second quarter. State Street Corp now owns 9,953,507 shares of the business services provider’s stock valued at $2,120,893,000 after acquiring an additional 160,051 shares in the last quarter. Bank of America Corp DE bought a new stake in shares of Republic Services during the second quarter valued at approximately $682,573,000. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its position in shares of Republic Services by 14.0% during the third quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 2,814,825 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $590,761,000 after purchasing an additional 345,719 shares during the period. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC raised its position in shares of Republic Services by 68.0% during the first quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 2,256,190 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $497,828,000 after purchasing an additional 913,249 shares during the period. 57.73% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Republic Services Company Profile

Republic Services, Inc. provides waste collection, recycling and environmental services to residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers across the United States. Its services include collecting and transporting waste, operating transfer stations and landfills, and processing recyclable materials. The company also provides environmental solutions, including services for the management and disposal of hazardous and other specialized waste. Republic Services traces its origins to the 1990s and expanded its operations through the 2008 combination with Allied Waste Industries.