Scotiabank Predicts Weaker Earnings for Waste Management

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM - Free Report) - Analysts at Scotiabank dropped their FY2026 earnings estimates for shares of Waste Management in a report issued on Wednesday, March 19th. Scotiabank analyst K. Gupta now expects that the business services provider will post earnings per share of $8.77 for the year, down from their previous forecast of $9.14. Scotiabank has a "Sector Outperform" rating and a $255.00 price objective on the stock. The consensus estimate for Waste Management's current full-year earnings is $7.70 per share.

WM has been the subject of several other reports. CIBC increased their price objective on Waste Management from $227.00 to $247.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, March 5th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on shares of Waste Management from $243.00 to $252.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Friday, January 31st. Jefferies Financial Group cut their target price on shares of Waste Management from $255.00 to $238.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Waste Management in a report on Friday, January 31st. Nine analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, eleven have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $236.65.

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Waste Management Price Performance

Shares of Waste Management stock traded up $0.23 during trading on Monday, hitting $229.16. 1,353,997 shares of the company's stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 1,530,164. Waste Management has a twelve month low of $196.59 and a twelve month high of $235.81. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.73, a current ratio of 0.76 and a quick ratio of 0.85. The firm's fifty day moving average price is $223.89 and its 200 day moving average price is $216.28. The company has a market cap of $92.15 billion, a PE ratio of 33.70, a PEG ratio of 2.71 and a beta of 0.75.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, January 29th. The business services provider reported $1.70 earnings per share for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $1.79 by ($0.09). Waste Management had a return on equity of 37.93% and a net margin of 12.45%.

Waste Management Increases Dividend

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Friday, March 28th. Stockholders of record on Friday, March 14th will be given a dividend of $0.825 per share. This is an increase from Waste Management's previous quarterly dividend of $0.75. The ex-dividend date of this dividend is Friday, March 14th. This represents a $3.30 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Waste Management's dividend payout ratio is currently 48.53%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Waste Management

In other Waste Management news, EVP Charles C. Boettcher sold 693 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction on Friday, January 31st. The shares were sold at an average price of $220.59, for a total transaction of $152,868.87. Following the completion of the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 45,542 shares of the company's stock, valued at $10,046,109.78. The trade was a 1.50 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, SVP Tara J. Hemmer sold 4,576 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, February 4th. The shares were sold at an average price of $222.12, for a total transaction of $1,016,421.12. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 58,765 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,052,881.80. This trade represents a 7.22 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders have sold 95,577 shares of company stock valued at $21,662,464 in the last 90 days. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Waste Management

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in WM. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates increased its position in Waste Management by 892.9% during the 4th quarter. Global Wealth Strategies & Associates now owns 139 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $28,000 after buying an additional 125 shares during the period. Transce3nd LLC bought a new position in Waste Management during the fourth quarter worth about $28,000. General Partner Inc. acquired a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter worth about $29,000. Halbert Hargrove Global Advisors LLC bought a new stake in Waste Management in the 4th quarter valued at about $33,000. Finally, Hurley Capital LLC acquired a new position in shares of Waste Management during the 4th quarter worth approximately $34,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 80.40% of the company's stock.

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.