Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) Receives Average Recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from Analysts

Shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST - Get Free Report) have received an average rating of "Moderate Buy" from the seven research firms that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, four have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $122.67.

CWST has been the topic of a number of recent analyst reports. Raymond James reiterated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research note on Wednesday, April 16th. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research note on Friday, February 14th. UBS Group upped their target price on Casella Waste Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Stifel Nicolaus upped their price target on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $127.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a research report on Tuesday, February 18th. Finally, Jefferies Financial Group lowered Casella Waste Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and reduced their price target for the stock from $115.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd.

Casella Waste Systems Trading Down 0.4 %

CWST stock traded down $0.45 during mid-day trading on Friday, reaching $118.02. 35,656 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 368,195. The business has a 50-day moving average price of $112.74 and a two-hundred day moving average price of $109.65. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.48 billion, a PE ratio of 513.13, a PEG ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.89. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a current ratio of 2.00. Casella Waste Systems has a one year low of $91.01 and a one year high of $121.24.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST - Get Free Report) last posted its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.19 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $0.11 by $0.08. The company had revenue of $417.10 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $403.64 million. Casella Waste Systems had a net margin of 0.87% and a return on equity of 4.15%. The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 22.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company posted $0.15 EPS. Equities research analysts expect that Casella Waste Systems will post 1.16 EPS for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, President Edmond Coletta sold 5,562 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $119.18, for a total transaction of $662,879.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the president now owns 150,093 shares of the company's stock, valued at $17,888,083.74. This trade represents a 3.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, SVP Paul Ligon sold 2,000 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, April 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $118.67, for a total transaction of $237,340.00. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,414,578.49. The trade was a 8.95 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 4.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Trading of Casella Waste Systems

Hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Sheets Smith Wealth Management increased its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 3.9% during the 1st quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 2,767 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $309,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. boosted its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 4.4% during the 1st quarter. Moors & Cabot Inc. now owns 2,469 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $275,000 after purchasing an additional 105 shares during the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC grew its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 16.4% in the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 802 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $85,000 after purchasing an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 2.1% in the fourth quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 6,388 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $676,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Mackenzie Financial Corp lifted its position in Casella Waste Systems by 4.3% during the fourth quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 3,516 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $372,000 after buying an additional 146 shares in the last quarter. 99.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

About Casella Waste Systems

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.