Republic Services (NYSE:RSG) Earns Outperform Rating from William Blair

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG - Get Free Report)'s stock had its "outperform" rating restated by analysts at William Blair in a research note issued on Friday,RTT News reports.

RSG has been the subject of several other research reports. Oppenheimer upped their price target on shares of Republic Services from $219.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "outperform" rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 30th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft upgraded shares of Republic Services from a "hold" rating to a "buy" rating and increased their target price for the stock from $219.00 to $237.00 in a research note on Tuesday, December 10th. CIBC upped their price objective on Republic Services from $217.00 to $227.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 4th. Morgan Stanley boosted their target price on Republic Services from $217.00 to $220.00 and gave the company an "equal weight" rating in a report on Thursday, December 12th. Finally, Royal Bank of Canada raised Republic Services from a "sector perform" rating to an "outperform" rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $219.00 to $237.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Six analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and twelve have assigned a buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus price target of $229.25.

Republic Services Stock Down 1.4 %

RSG stock traded down $3.15 during midday trading on Friday, reaching $228.22. 1,224,932 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 999,053. The company has a market cap of $71.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 36.52, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.24 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.07, a quick ratio of 0.64 and a current ratio of 0.64. Republic Services has a 1-year low of $179.62 and a 1-year high of $232.52. The stock's 50-day simple moving average is $211.31 and its 200 day simple moving average is $207.76.

Republic Services (NYSE:RSG - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 13th. The business services provider reported $1.58 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $1.37 by $0.21. Republic Services had a return on equity of 18.18% and a net margin of 12.46%. The firm had revenue of $4.05 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $4.08 billion. During the same period in the prior year, the firm earned $1.41 EPS. On average, equities analysts forecast that Republic Services will post 6.25 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Katharine Weymouth sold 1,859 shares of the company's stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, December 5th. The shares were sold at an average price of $215.27, for a total transaction of $400,186.93. Following the transaction, the director now owns 879 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $189,222.33. This represents a 67.90 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. 0.09% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Republic Services

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Norges Bank purchased a new stake in Republic Services in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $553,039,000. Stifel Financial Corp grew its stake in shares of Republic Services by 437.9% during the 3rd quarter. Stifel Financial Corp now owns 1,814,613 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $364,449,000 after buying an additional 1,477,255 shares during the period. Wellington Management Group LLP increased its holdings in shares of Republic Services by 23.2% during the 3rd quarter. Wellington Management Group LLP now owns 6,004,199 shares of the business services provider's stock worth $1,205,883,000 after buying an additional 1,131,850 shares during the last quarter. Raymond James Financial Inc. acquired a new position in Republic Services in the fourth quarter valued at $184,827,000. Finally, International Assets Investment Management LLC grew its position in Republic Services by 83,671.9% during the third quarter. International Assets Investment Management LLC now owns 538,653 shares of the business services provider's stock valued at $108,183,000 after acquiring an additional 538,010 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 57.73% of the company's stock.

About Republic Services

Republic Services, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, offers environmental services in the United States and Canada. It is involved in the collection and processing of recyclable, solid waste, and industrial waste materials; transportation and disposal of non-hazardous and hazardous waste streams; and other environmental solutions.