Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) Stock Gets Price Target Reduction from JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) had its target price decreased by JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $105.00 to $91.00 in a research note published on Thursday morning,Benzinga reports. JPMorgan Chase & Co. currently has a neutral rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other research analysts have also weighed in on CWST. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Casella Waste Systems from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Friday, October 2nd. UBS Group decreased their price target on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Casella Waste Systems from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, five have assigned a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $109.00.

Casella Waste Systems Price Performance

NASDAQ:CWST opened at $83.78 on Thursday. The company has a current ratio of 0.99, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84. The company has a market capitalization of $5.33 billion, a P/E ratio of 930.99 and a beta of 0.78. Casella Waste Systems has a 12 month low of $74.05 and a 12 month high of $107.96. The business’s 50-day moving average is $89.02 and its 200 day moving average is $87.71.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.04. Casella Waste Systems had a return on equity of 5.32% and a net margin of 0.29%. The business had revenue of $543.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $526.43 million. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.36 EPS. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.9% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities research analysts forecast that Casella Waste Systems will post 1.23 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Michael Burke sold 1,100 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.26, for a total value of $104,786.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 13,641 shares in the company, valued at $1,299,441.66. This trade represents a 7.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Douglas Casella sold 1,343 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.12, for a total transaction of $122,374.16. Following the transaction, the director owned 90,141 shares in the company, valued at $8,213,647.92. This trade represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,700 shares of company stock valued at $1,709,494. 3.78% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Wasatch Advisors LP raised its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 36.8% in the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,531,594 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $342,459,000 after buying an additional 949,374 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp boosted its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 5,715.3% during the 1st quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 387,531 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $30,747,000 after acquiring an additional 380,867 shares during the period. Ranger Investment Management L.P. purchased a new position in Casella Waste Systems during the 2nd quarter valued at $32,045,000. Riverbridge Partners LLC bought a new position in Casella Waste Systems in the 1st quarter valued at $13,742,000. Finally, Congruence Capital LLC bought a new position in Casella Waste Systems in the 4th quarter valued at $16,766,000. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.51% of the company’s stock.

About Casella Waste Systems

Casella Waste Systems, Inc is a regional solid waste services company that provides collection, transfer, disposal, recycling and resource-management services. Its operations serve residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers, including communities, businesses and institutions seeking to manage and recover value from solid waste.

The company’s activities include curbside and commercial waste collection, operation of transfer stations and landfills, recycling services, and the processing of organic materials.