Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) Given Consensus Rating of "Moderate Buy" by Analysts

Key Points

• Casella Waste Systems has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy”, with 8 buy ratings, 1 strong buy, 1 hold, and 2 sells. The average 1-year price target is $110.13.
• The company’s latest quarterly results beat expectations, posting $0.20 EPS versus the $0.10 estimate and revenue of $457.33 million, up 9.6% year over year. Analysts now expect full-year EPS of 1.12.
• Recent insider activity included stock sales by CEO Edmond Coletta and Director Michael K. Burke, while institutional ownership remains very high at 99.51%. The stock was trading near $97.49, below its 52-week high of $114.12.

Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve brokerages that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation, eight have given a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1 year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $110.1250.

CWST has been the subject of several research analyst reports. UBS Group decreased their target price on Casella Waste Systems from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a "buy" rating for the company in a research report on Friday, June 26th. Weiss Ratings restated a "sell (d)" rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Friday, May 22nd. TD Cowen reaffirmed a "buy" rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Zacks Research lowered shares of Casella Waste Systems from a "hold" rating to a "strong sell" rating in a report on Tuesday, June 9th. Finally, Barclays raised shares of Casella Waste Systems from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $101.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Monday, May 4th.

Insider Buying and Selling

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

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Casella Waste Systems

Several hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in CWST. Alpine Woods Capital Investors LLC bought a new position in shares of Casella Waste Systems during the 1st quarter worth $270,000. Argent Capital Management LLC lifted its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 1,054.4% in the first quarter. Argent Capital Management LLC now owns 73,097 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,800,000 after acquiring an additional 66,765 shares during the period. Edgestream Partners L.P. bought a new position in Casella Waste Systems during the 1st quarter worth about $223,000. Amundi purchased a new position in Casella Waste Systems during the 1st quarter valued at about $374,000. Finally, California State Teachers Retirement System raised its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 26.2% in the 1st quarter. California State Teachers Retirement System now owns 74,027 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $5,873,000 after purchasing an additional 15,380 shares in the last quarter. 99.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Casella Waste Systems Trading Up 2.2%

CWST opened at $97.49 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $6.20 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 886.35 and a beta of 0.74. The stock's 50 day moving average price is $86.37 and its 200-day moving average price is $91.77. Casella Waste Systems has a one year low of $74.05 and a one year high of $114.12. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.10. Casella Waste Systems had a return on equity of 5.19% and a net margin of 0.38%.The firm had revenue of $457.33 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $454.49 million. During the same period last year, the company earned $0.19 EPS. Casella Waste Systems's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, equities analysts forecast that Casella Waste Systems will post 1.12 EPS for the current year.

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.

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