Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) Hits New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

Shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) reached a new 52-week low on Thursday . The company traded as low as $74.05 and last traded at $76.43, with a volume of 813726 shares. The stock had previously closed at $76.06.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on the company. Jefferies Financial Group set a $120.00 price target on Casella Waste Systems and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Weiss Ratings cut Casella Waste Systems from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Casella Waste Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 1st. Barclays raised their target price on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and set a $115.00 price target on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat, the stock has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $113.11.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Up 0.5%

The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $96.82 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $94.53. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.26 and a quick ratio of 1.26. The stock has a market cap of $4.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 636.97 and a beta of 0.80.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Kevin Drohan sold 675 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total transaction of $62,511.75. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 7,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $691,055.82. The trade was a 8.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Also, President Edmond Coletta sold 3,812 shares of the stock in a transaction 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 owned 147,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,782,426.70. This trade represents a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 15,830 shares of company stock worth $1,454,208 in the last ninety days. Company insiders own 3.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 301.6% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 245 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Casella Waste Systems in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $25,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Casella Waste Systems in the 4th quarter valued at approximately $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 235.3% during the 2nd quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 285 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC increased its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 180.2% during the 3rd quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 297 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares in the last quarter. 99.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Casella Waste Systems Company Profile

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.