Republic Services, Inc. (NYSE: RSG) has reported the adjusted earnings per share of 61 cents in the fourth quarter of FY 17, and reported the adjusted revenue growth of 7.6 percent to $2.56 billion in the fourth quarter of FY 17. Republic Services stock lost over 2.8% on Feb 9th, 2018 (as of 12:56PM EST; Source: Google finance).

Additionally, RSG has declared a regular quarterly dividend of $0.345 per share for stockholders of record on April 2nd, 2018, which will be paid on April 16th, 2018. The company has returned $1.1 billion to shareholders in 2017 through share repurchases and dividends, which represents a cash yield of 5.1 percent.

In addition, RSG has continued to refine and optimize the digital platform to improve the online customer buying experience. The company experienced double-digit growth in online sales and the customer satisfaction ratings. The company has also completed the transition to the three state-of-the-art Customer Resource Centers. These centers are designed to enhance the customers’ experience through a more professionally trained customer service team, improved technology, and additional communications channels

For FY 18, RSG expects the adjusted free cash flow to be $1,090 million to $1,115 million, which is an increase of 18 percent over the prior year. The company expects the adjusted diluted earnings per share to be in the range of $3.05 to $3.10, an increase of 27 percent over the prior year. The revenue is expected to grow 4.0 to 4.5 percent, excluding the impact of adopting the new revenue recognition standard. Further, RSG expects to receive $1,050 million of property and equipment, net of proceeds from the sale of property and equipment. The adjusted EBITDA margin is expected to expand by approximately 110 to 130 basis points to 28.8 to 29.0 percent. The effective tax rate is expected to be of approximately 27 percent. In FY 18, RSG expects to invest over $150 million in tuck-in acquisitions. Furthermore, the company expects to return approximately $1.2 billion total cash to shareholders, through $450 million of dividends and $775 million in share repurchases.