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Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (WM - Free Report) scaled a 52-week high of $127.56 in the trading session on Mar 25, before closing a tad lower at $127.43.
The company’s shares have charted a solid trajectory in recent times, appreciating 33.7% over the past year, much ahead of 15.6% growth of the industry it belongs to.
Notably, Waste Management has witnessed a 12.3% rise in share price since it posted fourth-quarter 2020 results.
Let’s find out what’s supporting the uptick.
Dividend Hike
Waste Management’s board of directors has declared a dividend hike of 5.5%, thereby raising the quarterly cash dividend for 2021 from 54.5 cents per share to 57.5 cents per share. Annually, the dividend rate rose from $2.18 to $2.30 per share. Backed by a solid business model and growth in free cash flow generation, the company has been able to successfully raise its dividends for eighteen consecutive years. Such initiatives not only instill investors’ confidence, but also positively impact earnings per share.
Consecutive Revenue Beat
Waste Management came up with better-than-expected revenue performance in all the four quarters of 2020. The company’s top line benefited from acquisition revenues and growth from yield.
Shareholder-Friendly Moves
Waste Management has a dominant market capitalization, and a steady dividend as well as share-repurchase policy. In 2020, 2019 and 2018, the company repurchased shares worth $402 million, $248 million and $1.004 billion, respectively. It paid $927 million, $876 million and $802 million in dividends during 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively. The company plans to return significant cash to shareholders through healthy dividends and share repurchases in the future as well.
Such moves indicate Waste Management’s commitment to create value for shareholders and underline its confidence in its business.
The long-term expected earnings per share (three to five years) growth rate for Interpublic, Charles River Associates and Gartner is 2.4%, 13% and 13.5%, respectively.
These Stocks Are Poised to Soar Past the Pandemic
The COVID-19 outbreak has shifted consumer behavior dramatically, and a handful of high-tech companies have stepped up to keep America running. Right now, investors in these companies have a shot at serious profits. For example, Zoom jumped 108.5% in less than 4 months while most other stocks were sinking.
Our research shows that 5 cutting-edge stocks could skyrocket from the exponential increase in demand for “stay at home” technologies. This could be one of the biggest buying opportunities of this decade, especially for those who get in early.
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Waste Management (WM) Hits 52-Week High: What's Driving It?
Shares of Waste Management, Inc. (WM - Free Report) scaled a 52-week high of $127.56 in the trading session on Mar 25, before closing a tad lower at $127.43.
The company’s shares have charted a solid trajectory in recent times, appreciating 33.7% over the past year, much ahead of 15.6% growth of the industry it belongs to.
Notably, Waste Management has witnessed a 12.3% rise in share price since it posted fourth-quarter 2020 results.
Let’s find out what’s supporting the uptick.
Dividend Hike
Waste Management’s board of directors has declared a dividend hike of 5.5%, thereby raising the quarterly cash dividend for 2021 from 54.5 cents per share to 57.5 cents per share. Annually, the dividend rate rose from $2.18 to $2.30 per share. Backed by a solid business model and growth in free cash flow generation, the company has been able to successfully raise its dividends for eighteen consecutive years. Such initiatives not only instill investors’ confidence, but also positively impact earnings per share.
Consecutive Revenue Beat
Waste Management came up with better-than-expected revenue performance in all the four quarters of 2020. The company’s top line benefited from acquisition revenues and growth from yield.
Shareholder-Friendly Moves
Waste Management has a dominant market capitalization, and a steady dividend as well as share-repurchase policy. In 2020, 2019 and 2018, the company repurchased shares worth $402 million, $248 million and $1.004 billion, respectively. It paid $927 million, $876 million and $802 million in dividends during 2020, 2019 and 2018, respectively. The company plans to return significant cash to shareholders through healthy dividends and share repurchases in the future as well.
Such moves indicate Waste Management’s commitment to create value for shareholders and underline its confidence in its business.
Zacks Rank and Stocks to Consider
Waste Management currently carries a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold). You can see the complete list of today’s Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here.
Some better-ranked stocks in the broader Zacks Business Services sector are Interpublic (IPG - Free Report) , Charles River Associates (CRAI - Free Report) and Gartner (IT - Free Report) , each carrying a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).
The long-term expected earnings per share (three to five years) growth rate for Interpublic, Charles River Associates and Gartner is 2.4%, 13% and 13.5%, respectively.
These Stocks Are Poised to Soar Past the Pandemic
The COVID-19 outbreak has shifted consumer behavior dramatically, and a handful of high-tech companies have stepped up to keep America running. Right now, investors in these companies have a shot at serious profits. For example, Zoom jumped 108.5% in less than 4 months while most other stocks were sinking.
Our research shows that 5 cutting-edge stocks could skyrocket from the exponential increase in demand for “stay at home” technologies. This could be one of the biggest buying opportunities of this decade, especially for those who get in early.
See the 5 high-tech stocks now>>