Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) Shares Gap Up – Should You Buy?

Shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) gapped up before the market opened on Wednesday . The stock had previously closed at $89.17, but opened at $93.99. Casella Waste Systems shares last traded at $89.4110, with a volume of 96,080 shares traded.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co. decreased their price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. UBS Group dropped their price target on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday. Weiss Ratings lowered Casella Waste Systems from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group set a $120.00 price objective on Casella Waste Systems and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Casella Waste Systems currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $113.11.

Casella Waste Systems Trading Up 0.2%

The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market cap of $5.67 billion, a PE ratio of 744.53 and a beta of 0.80. The business has a fifty day moving average price of $100.38 and a 200 day moving average price of $95.58.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.22 by $0.08. Casella Waste Systems had a return on equity of 5.17% and a net margin of 0.43%.The firm had revenue of $469.06 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $471.32 million. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.41 earnings per share. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts forecast that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.16 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Casella Waste Systems

In other news, CEO John W. Casella sold 6,726 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.10, for a total value of $626,190.60. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 27,989 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,605,775.90. The trade was a 19.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Edmond Coletta sold 3,812 shares of Casella Waste Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.70, for a total transaction of $357,184.40. Following the completion of the sale, the president directly owned 147,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,782,426.70. The trade was a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 11,213 shares of company stock worth $1,045,887 over the last ninety days. 3.81% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Casella Waste Systems

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. AQR Capital Management LLC lifted its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 57.7% during the 1st quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,035,000 after acquiring an additional 3,395 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 1,601.9% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 5,412 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $603,000 after purchasing an additional 5,094 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC raised its position in Casella Waste Systems by 3,226.1% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 69,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,789,000 after purchasing an additional 67,749 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in Casella Waste Systems by 301.6% in the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 245 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can lifted its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 26.4% during the second quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 7,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $871,000 after purchasing an additional 1,575 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.51% of the company’s stock.

About Casella Waste Systems

Casella Waste Systems, Inc is a regional resource management company headquartered in Rutland, Vermont. Established in 1975, the company has grown from a single-truck operation into a multi-state provider of integrated waste management solutions. Casella offers a comprehensive range of services, including residential, commercial and industrial waste collection, transfer station operations, landfill disposal, recycling processing and organics management.

Through a network of solid waste transfer stations, recycling facilities and landfills, Casella serves communities primarily across the northeastern United States and parts of the mid-Atlantic region.