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

Key Points

• Casella Waste Systems has a consensus analyst rating of “Moderate Buy”, with 8 buy ratings and 2 strong buy ratings among 12 covering firms. The average 12-month price target is $111.13.
• The company recently reported better-than-expected quarterly results, posting EPS of $0.20 versus the $0.10 estimate and revenue of $457.33 million, up 9.6% year over year.
• There has been notable insider selling, including trades by the CFO and president, while hedge funds and other institutional investors now own 99.51% of the stock.

Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST - Get Free Report) has been assigned an average recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the twelve ratings firms that are currently covering the firm, Marketbeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, one has given a hold recommendation, eight have assigned a buy recommendation and two have assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among brokers that have updated their coverage on the stock in the last year is $111.1250.

Several brokerages recently issued reports on CWST. UBS Group reduced their price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Raymond James Financial reissued a "strong-buy" rating and set a $115.00 price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Casella Waste Systems from a "hold (c-)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Barclays raised shares of Casella Waste Systems from an "equal weight" rating to an "overweight" rating and upped their price objective for the company from $101.00 to $102.00 in a research note on Monday, May 4th. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. reduced their price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research note on Monday, February 23rd.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Performance

Shares of CWST opened at $84.31 on Thursday. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38. The company has a market capitalization of $5.36 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 766.52 and a beta of 0.77. The company's 50 day simple moving average is $84.07 and its 200 day simple moving average is $92.82. Casella Waste Systems has a 1 year low of $74.05 and a 1 year high of $118.91.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.10 by $0.10. The business had revenue of $457.33 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $454.49 million. Casella Waste Systems had a net margin of 0.38% and a return on equity of 5.19%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.19 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Casella Waste Systems will post 1.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity at Casella Waste Systems

In other Casella Waste Systems news, CFO Bradford John Helgeson sold 405 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, March 16th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.73, for a total transaction of $35,530.65. Following the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 7,342 shares of the company's stock, valued at $644,113.66. This trade represents a 5.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. Also, President Edmond Coletta sold 3,812 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.70, for a total transaction of $357,184.40. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 147,091 shares in the company, valued at approximately $13,782,426.70. This represents a 2.53% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last ninety days, insiders sold 15,830 shares of company stock worth $1,454,208. Company insiders own 3.78% of the company's stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Casella Waste Systems

A number of large investors have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC raised its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 41.0% during the fourth quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp raised its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 3.9% during the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 3,975 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $377,000 after purchasing an additional 149 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp raised its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 48.6% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 489 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $48,000 after purchasing an additional 160 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. raised its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 301.6% during the first quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 245 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares during the period. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC raised its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 180.2% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 297 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 191 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.51% of the company's stock.

Casella Waste Systems Company Profile

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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