Oppenheimer Comments on Waste Management, Inc.’s FY2022 Earnings (NYSE:WM)

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM – Get Rating) – Stock analysts at Oppenheimer decreased their FY2022 earnings estimates for Waste Management in a research report issued to clients and investors on Tuesday, January 17th. Oppenheimer analyst N. Kaye now anticipates that the business services provider will post earnings per share of $5.64 for the year, down from their previous estimate of $5.65. The consensus estimate for Waste Management’s current full-year earnings is $5.70 per share. Oppenheimer also issued estimates for Waste Management’s Q4 2022 earnings at $1.35 EPS, Q1 2023 earnings at $1.35 EPS, Q2 2023 earnings at $1.53 EPS, Q3 2023 earnings at $1.67 EPS, Q4 2023 earnings at $1.51 EPS and FY2024 earnings at $6.48 EPS.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM – Get Rating) last released its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 26th. The business services provider reported $1.56 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $1.50 by $0.06. The firm had revenue of $5.08 billion during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $5.06 billion. Waste Management had a net margin of 11.55% and a return on equity of 32.48%. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 8.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $1.26 earnings per share.

Several other research firms have also recently weighed in on WM. StockNews.com cut shares of Waste Management from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, December 15th. Stifel Nicolaus cut shares of Waste Management from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and decreased their price objective for the stock from $185.00 to $171.00 in a research report on Monday, December 19th. Citigroup began coverage on shares of Waste Management in a research report on Friday, January 6th. They set a “buy” rating and a $183.00 price objective for the company. Morgan Stanley decreased their price objective on shares of Waste Management from $180.00 to $177.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Thursday, October 27th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group upgraded shares of Waste Management from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and increased their price objective for the stock from $170.00 to $191.00 in a research report on Tuesday, October 25th. Seven equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and four have issued a buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat, Waste Management currently has an average rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $171.36.

Waste Management Price Performance

WM stock opened at $150.90 on Wednesday. Waste Management has a 52-week low of $138.58 and a 52-week high of $175.98. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.97, a quick ratio of 0.81 and a current ratio of 0.85. The company has a fifty day moving average price of $160.53 and a 200-day moving average price of $162.34. The company has a market capitalization of $61.94 billion, a P/E ratio of 28.05, a PEG ratio of 1.98 and a beta of 0.73.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Desjardins Global Asset Management Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Management in the second quarter valued at about $25,000. McClarren Financial Advisors Inc. purchased a new position in Waste Management in the third quarter valued at about $25,000. Harel Insurance Investments & Financial Services Ltd. purchased a new position in Waste Management in the second quarter valued at about $30,000. Twin Lakes Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the third quarter valued at approximately $31,000. Finally, TD Capital Management LLC bought a new stake in shares of Waste Management in the third quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 78.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Insider Transactions at Waste Management

In other news, Director John C. Pope sold 218 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, January 17th. The shares were sold at an average price of $154.76, for a total transaction of $33,737.68. Following the completion of the sale, the director now directly owns 55,809 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $8,637,000.84. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. 0.18% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Waste Management announced that its board has initiated a stock repurchase plan on Thursday, December 8th that allows the company to repurchase $1.50 billion in outstanding shares. This repurchase authorization allows the business services provider to buy up to 2.2% of its shares through open market purchases. Shares repurchase plans are typically an indication that the company’s leadership believes its stock is undervalued.

Waste Management Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, December 16th. Stockholders of record on Friday, December 2nd were given a dividend of $0.65 per share. This represents a $2.60 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.72%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, December 1st. Waste Management’s payout ratio is presently 48.33%.

Waste Management Company Profile

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Waste Management, Inc, through its subsidiaries, provides waste management environmental services to residential, commercial, industrial, and municipal customers in North America. 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, develops, and operates landfill gas-to-energy facilities in the United States, as well as owns and operates transfer stations.