Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) Receives Consensus Rating of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) have received an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven analysts that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation, seven have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $110.1250.

Several research analysts have recently commented on CWST shares. TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Friday, June 5th. UBS Group dropped their price objective 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 raised shares of Casella Waste Systems from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Barclays upgraded Casella Waste Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their target price for the company from $101.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Friday, May 22nd.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Performance

CWST stock opened at $89.30 on Tuesday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $90.43 and its 200 day simple moving average is $91.15. Casella Waste Systems has a 12-month low of $74.05 and a 12-month high of $111.48. The firm has a market cap of $5.68 billion, a P/E ratio of 811.89 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $457.33 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $454.49 million. Casella Waste Systems had a net margin of 0.38% and a return on equity of 5.19%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.19 earnings per share. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Casella Waste Systems will post 1.06 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Casella Waste Systems

In related news, Director Michael K. Burke sold 2,305 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.56, for a total transaction of $201,825.80. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 14,048 shares in the company, valued at $1,230,042.88. The trade was a 14.10% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO Edmond Coletta sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.56, for a total value of $1,119,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer directly owned 140,118 shares in the company, valued at $12,548,968.08. This represents a 8.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Company insiders own 3.78% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Casella Waste Systems

Several institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position in Casella Waste Systems by 10,865.8% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 990,651 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $97,040,000 after purchasing an additional 981,617 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its position in Casella Waste Systems by 36.8% in the 2nd quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,531,594 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $342,459,000 after purchasing an additional 949,374 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its position in Casella Waste Systems by 60.7% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,306,780 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $225,926,000 after purchasing an additional 871,761 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. increased its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 1,106.7% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 867,285 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $100,067,000 after purchasing an additional 795,414 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG increased its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 653.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 841,897 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $82,455,000 after purchasing an additional 730,128 shares during the period. Institutional investors 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.