Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) Given Average Rating of “Moderate Buy” by Brokerages

Shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the twelve brokerages that are presently covering the company, MarketBeat.com reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have issued a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and two have issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $113.1111.

A number of research analysts recently issued reports on the company. Barclays lifted their target price on Casella Waste Systems from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. UBS Group cut their price target on Casella Waste Systems from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a report on Tuesday, March 10th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price target on Casella Waste Systems from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. 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. Finally, Zacks Research raised Casella Waste Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 1st.

Casella Waste Systems Price Performance

Shares of CWST opened at $79.34 on Wednesday. The company has a market cap of $5.04 billion, a P/E ratio of 661.22 and a beta of 0.80. Casella Waste Systems has a fifty-two week low of $74.05 and a fifty-two week high of $121.24. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $94.58 and its 200 day moving average price is $94.12.

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

Insider Activity

In other news, CAO Kevin Drohan sold 675 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total value of $62,511.75. Following the sale, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $691,055.82. This trade represents a 8.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, CEO John W. Casella sold 6,726 shares of Casella Waste Systems stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.10, for a total transaction of $626,190.60. Following the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 27,989 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $2,605,775.90. This trade represents a 19.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders have sold 15,830 shares of company stock worth $1,454,208 over the last three months. Insiders own 3.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Casella Waste Systems

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Campbell & CO Investment Adviser LLC acquired a new stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,707,000. Impax Asset Management Group plc boosted its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 33.3% in the third quarter. Impax Asset Management Group plc now owns 80,000 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,590,000 after purchasing an additional 20,000 shares in the last quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd boosted its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 40.9% in the third quarter. UniSuper Management Pty Ltd now owns 102,003 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $9,678,000 after purchasing an additional 29,605 shares in the last quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH increased its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 14.3% in the third quarter. Universal Beteiligungs und Servicegesellschaft mbH now owns 81,417 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,725,000 after purchasing an additional 10,207 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Voya Investment Management LLC increased its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 72.1% in the third quarter. Voya Investment Management LLC now owns 536,376 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $50,891,000 after purchasing an additional 224,691 shares during the last quarter. 99.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.