Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) Receives Average Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) has been given an average recommendation of “Buy” by the four analysts that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have covered the stock in the last year is $99.71.

CWST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. StockNews.com upgraded shares of Casella Waste Systems from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research report on Friday, February 16th. Wells Fargo & Company raised their price target on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $95.00 to $100.00 and gave the stock an “overweight” rating in a report on Tuesday, February 20th.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Down 0.7 %

CWST stock opened at $94.32 on Friday. The company has a market cap of $5.47 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 209.60, a PEG ratio of 6.19 and a beta of 0.90. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $94.40 and a two-hundred day moving average of $86.70. Casella Waste Systems has a 12 month low of $72.97 and a 12 month high of $100.29. The company has a current ratio of 1.53, a quick ratio of 1.46 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.99.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Friday, February 16th. The industrial products company reported $0.13 EPS for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.16 by ($0.03). Casella Waste Systems had a return on equity of 5.81% and a net margin of 2.01%. The company had revenue of $359.57 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $360.08 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.18 EPS. The business’s quarterly revenue was up 32.1% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, analysts forecast that Casella Waste Systems will post 0.77 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, CEO John W. Casella sold 1,673 shares of Casella Waste Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.13, for a total value of $157,479.49. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer now owns 35,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,312,340.57. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. In related news, CEO John W. Casella sold 1,673 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $94.13, for a total transaction of $157,479.49. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer now directly owns 35,189 shares in the company, valued at approximately $3,312,340.57. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President Edmond Coletta sold 733 shares of Casella Waste Systems stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, March 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $94.31, for a total value of $69,129.23. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 170,486 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $16,078,534.66. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last three months, insiders have sold 11,238 shares of company stock valued at $1,026,395. Company insiders own 4.75% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Casella Waste Systems

Several large investors have recently bought and sold shares of CWST. Vanguard Group Inc. grew its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 1.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 5,478,870 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $468,224,000 after buying an additional 92,085 shares in the last quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC increased its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 1.8% in the 3rd quarter. William Blair Investment Management LLC now owns 3,047,265 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $232,506,000 after purchasing an additional 55,066 shares during the last quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 3.5% in the 3rd quarter. JPMorgan Chase & Co. now owns 2,679,013 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $204,409,000 after purchasing an additional 91,431 shares during the last quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 41.5% in the 3rd quarter. Ameriprise Financial Inc. now owns 1,953,863 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $149,080,000 after purchasing an additional 572,792 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC lifted its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 2.5% during the 3rd quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 1,713,604 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $130,748,000 after purchasing an additional 42,434 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.51% of the company’s stock.

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.