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

Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST - Get Free Report) has been assigned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the seven ratings firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat Ratings reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month price objective among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $122.67.

Several research firms recently weighed in on CWST. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $127.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Raymond James reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Jefferies Financial Group downgraded Casella Waste Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $115.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Finally, UBS Group lifted their target price on Casella Waste Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th.

Insider Activity

In other Casella Waste Systems news, SVP Paul Ligon sold 2,000 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred 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 transaction, the senior vice president now owns 20,347 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,414,578.49. This trade represents a 8.95 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. 4.24% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Casella Waste Systems

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. Sheets Smith Wealth Management increased its position in Casella Waste Systems by 3.9% in the 1st quarter. Sheets Smith Wealth Management now owns 2,767 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $309,000 after buying an additional 103 shares in the last quarter. Signaturefd LLC increased its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 16.4% during the fourth quarter. Signaturefd LLC now owns 802 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $85,000 after acquiring an additional 113 shares in the last quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Summit Investment Advisors Inc. now owns 6,388 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $676,000 after purchasing an additional 134 shares in the last quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in Casella Waste Systems by 4.3% in the 4th quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 3,516 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $372,000 after purchasing an additional 146 shares during the period. Finally, Covestor Ltd increased its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 124.4% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 276 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. 99.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Down 0.5 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CWST opened at $116.75 on Friday. Casella Waste Systems has a 12-month low of $91.01 and a 12-month high of $120.69. The company has a current ratio of 2.00, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The stock's 50-day moving average price is $112.05 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $109.28. The firm has a market cap of $7.40 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 507.61, a PEG ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.96.

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

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