Zacks Research Weighs in on Waste Management, Inc.’s Q4 2024 Earnings (NYSE:WM)

Waste Management, Inc. (NYSE:WM) – Research analysts at Zacks Research dropped their Q4 2024 EPS estimates for Waste Management in a research note issued to investors on Thursday, August 1st. Zacks Research analyst R. Department now anticipates that the business services provider will post earnings of $1.76 per share for the quarter, down from their prior forecast of $1.81. The consensus estimate for Waste Management’s current full-year earnings is $7.25 per share. Zacks Research also issued estimates for Waste Management’s Q1 2025 earnings at $1.78 EPS, Q4 2025 earnings at $1.92 EPS, Q1 2026 earnings at $2.08 EPS, Q2 2026 earnings at $2.29 EPS and FY2026 earnings at $8.76 EPS.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on WM. TD Cowen lifted their target price on Waste Management from $220.00 to $235.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, April 29th. CIBC lowered their target price on Waste Management from $223.00 to $213.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, July 26th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price target on Waste Management from $215.00 to $227.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Friday, April 26th. Erste Group Bank reissued a “hold” rating on shares of Waste Management in a research note on Friday, June 14th. Finally, The Goldman Sachs Group raised Waste Management to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, July 26th. Eleven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, nine have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $215.83.

Waste Management Price Performance

NYSE:WM opened at $207.76 on Friday. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $208.97 and its 200 day moving average price is $205.67. The firm has a market cap of $83.38 billion, a P/E ratio of 34.00, a PEG ratio of 2.30 and a beta of 0.74. Waste Management has a 52-week low of $149.71 and a 52-week high of $225.00. The company has a quick ratio of 1.03, a current ratio of 1.07 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 2.21.

Waste Management (NYSE:WM) last released its earnings results on Wednesday, July 24th. The business services provider reported $1.82 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, hitting analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.82. The firm had revenue of $5.40 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $5.43 billion. Waste Management had a return on equity of 39.52% and a net margin of 12.13%. Waste Management’s revenue was up 5.5% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period in the previous year, the company earned $1.51 earnings per share.

Waste Management Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, June 21st. Stockholders of record on Friday, June 7th were issued a dividend of $0.75 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Friday, June 7th. This represents a $3.00 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 1.44%. Waste Management’s dividend payout ratio is 49.10%.

Insider Activity

In other news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of Waste Management stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total transaction of $330,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 44,144 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,711,680. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. In related news, VP Michael J. Watson sold 1,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, July 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $220.00, for a total value of $330,000.00. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now directly owns 44,144 shares in the company, valued at approximately $9,711,680. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Michael J. Watson sold 4,208 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, June 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $204.28, for a total value of $859,610.24. Following the completion of the sale, the vice president now owns 45,644 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $9,324,156.32. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.18% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. National Bank of Canada FI increased its position in Waste Management by 4.4% in the 2nd quarter. National Bank of Canada FI now owns 301,967 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $63,170,000 after buying an additional 12,596 shares during the period. Journey Advisory Group LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 2.7% in the 2nd quarter. Journey Advisory Group LLC now owns 34,801 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $7,424,000 after buying an additional 901 shares during the period. TD Asset Management Inc increased its position in Waste Management by 23.3% in the 2nd quarter. TD Asset Management Inc now owns 204,780 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $43,688,000 after buying an additional 38,638 shares during the period. Mattern Capital Management LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 33.5% in the 2nd quarter. Mattern Capital Management LLC now owns 2,074 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $442,000 after buying an additional 520 shares during the period. Finally, Larson Financial Group LLC increased its position in Waste Management by 47.6% in the 2nd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 1,812 shares of the business services provider’s stock worth $387,000 after buying an additional 584 shares during the period. 80.40% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Waste Management

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.