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

Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Buy” by the five brokerages that are presently covering the stock, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 12 month price objective among analysts that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $111.50.

A number of research analysts have issued reports on the company. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and issued a $117.00 price target (up from $110.00) on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Monday, August 5th. William Blair began coverage on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $114.00 to $107.00 and set a “hold” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Raymond James increased their target price on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $121.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th.

Insider Buying and Selling at Casella Waste Systems

In other news, SVP Paul Ligon sold 1,730 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.81, for a total value of $184,781.30. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 21,085 shares in the company, valued at $2,252,088.85. This trade represents a 7.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is available through this link. Insiders own 4.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 15.0% during the 1st quarter. Envestnet Portfolio Solutions Inc. now owns 3,590 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $355,000 after purchasing an additional 467 shares during the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC purchased a new stake in Casella Waste Systems in the 1st quarter valued at $263,000. Swiss National Bank increased its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 0.3% in the 1st quarter. Swiss National Bank now owns 112,500 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $11,123,000 after acquiring an additional 300 shares during the last quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC purchased a new position in shares of Casella Waste Systems during the 1st quarter worth $316,000. Finally, US Bancorp DE boosted its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 7.9% during the 1st quarter. US Bancorp DE now owns 3,715 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $367,000 after acquiring an additional 272 shares during the last quarter. 99.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Performance

Casella Waste Systems stock opened at $109.05 on Thursday. Casella Waste Systems has a fifty-two week low of $79.16 and a fifty-two week high of $111.01. The company has a market capitalization of $6.90 billion, a PE ratio of 908.75, a P/E/G ratio of 6.31 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $102.81 and a 200-day moving average price of $101.83. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a current ratio of 2.55.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.01). The firm had revenue of $411.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $412.59 million. Casella Waste Systems had a return on equity of 3.04% and a net margin of 0.46%. The company’s revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the firm earned $0.35 EPS. As a group, equities analysts forecast that Casella Waste Systems will post 0.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Casella Waste Systems Company Profile

Casella Waste Systems, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a vertically integrated solid waste services company in the United States. It offers resource management services primarily in the areas of solid waste collection and disposal, transfer, recycling, and organics services to residential, commercial, municipal, institutional, and industrial customers.