JPMorgan Chase & Co. Forecasts Strong Price Appreciation for Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) Stock

Key Points

• JPMorgan raised its Casella Waste Systems price target from $91 to $99 while maintaining a “neutral” rating, implying approximately 8.92% upside. Analysts’ consensus rating is “Moderate Buy,” with an average target of $105.83.
• Casella reported quarterly earnings of $0.40 per share, beating estimates of $0.36, while revenue rose 16.9% year over year to $543.75 million.
• CWST shares traded at $90.89, with a market capitalization of $5.78 billion; insiders sold 18,700 shares worth about $1.71 million over the past 90 days, while institutional investors own 99.51% of the stock.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST - Get Free Report) had its price target increased by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $91.00 to $99.00 in a research report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage currently has a "neutral" rating on the industrial products company's stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.'s target price suggests a potential upside of 8.92% from the company's current price.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Casella Waste Systems from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Friday. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $106.00 price target on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Friday, October 9th. UBS Group downgraded shares of Casella Waste Systems from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $122.00 to $95.00 in a report on Wednesday. Barclays upped their price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a research report on Monday, August 10th. Finally, Zacks Research upgraded shares of Casella Waste Systems from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the stock presently has a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" and a consensus target price of $105.83.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Performance

NASDAQ CWST traded down $2.18 during trading on Wednesday, hitting $90.89. The company's stock had a trading volume of 152,947 shares, compared to its average volume of 704,320. Casella Waste Systems has a 52 week low of $74.05 and a 52 week high of $107.96. The firm has a market cap of $5.78 billion, a P/E ratio of 1,011.10 and a beta of 0.78. The firm has a 50 day moving average price of $88.43 and a 200 day moving average price of $88.23. The company has a quick ratio of 0.99, a current ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data 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 company had revenue of $543.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $526.43 million. During the same period in the prior year, the business earned $0.36 earnings per share. Casella Waste Systems's revenue for the quarter was up 16.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities research analysts forecast that Casella Waste Systems will post 1.22 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Michael K. Burke sold 1,100 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.26, for a total value of $104,786.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 13,641 shares of the company's stock, valued at $1,299,441.66. This represents a 7.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Douglas R. Casella sold 15,157 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.05, for a total transaction of $1,380,044.85. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 91,484 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,329,618.20. This trade represents a 14.21% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders sold 18,700 shares of company stock valued at $1,709,494. Corporate insiders own 3.78% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Casella Waste Systems

Several large investors have recently modified their holdings of CWST. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in Casella Waste Systems by 51.2% during the 3rd quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 2,269 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $182,000 after buying an additional 768 shares in the last quarter. Counterpoint Mutual Funds LLC bought a new stake in Casella Waste Systems during the 3rd quarter worth about $524,000. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. grew its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 4.9% during the 3rd quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 4,006 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $322,000 after acquiring an additional 188 shares during the last quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp increased its position in Casella Waste Systems by 100.0% in the 3rd quarter. WoodTrust Financial Corp now owns 4,500 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $362,000 after acquiring an additional 2,250 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC raised its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 27.0% in the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 2,283 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $183,000 after acquiring an additional 485 shares during 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 solid waste services company founded in 1975 and headquartered in Rutland, Vermont. The company provides collection, transfer, disposal, recycling and organics services for residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers.

Casella operates an integrated network of solid waste management assets, including transfer stations, recycling facilities, landfills, composting and organics-processing operations, and resource-recovery facilities.

This instant news alert was generated by narrative science technology and financial data from MarketBeat in order to provide readers with the fastest reporting and unbiased coverage. Please send any questions or comments about this story to contact@marketbeat.com.