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

Key Points

• Analysts maintain a “Moderate Buy” consensus on Casella Waste Systems, with seven buy ratings, one strong-buy rating, two holds and one sell. The average 12-month price target is $109.75.
• Casella exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.40 in adjusted earnings per share versus a $0.36 consensus estimate and $543.75 million in revenue versus $526.43 million expected; revenue increased 16.9% year over year.
• Shares opened at $90.34, while company insiders sold 18,700 shares worth approximately $1.71 million over the past three months. Institutional investors 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 eleven ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, two have assigned a hold rating, seven have assigned a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company. The average 12-month target price among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $109.75.

CWST has been the topic of a number of research reports. TD Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Friday, June 5th. Zacks Research raised Casella Waste Systems from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings upgraded Casella Waste Systems from a "sell (d)" rating to a "sell (d+)" rating in a report on Friday, August 14th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price objective on Casella Waste Systems from $110.00 to $105.00 and set a "neutral" rating for the company in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Finally, UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a report on Friday, June 26th.

Casella Waste Systems Price Performance

CWST stock opened at $90.34 on Wednesday. The stock has a market cap of $5.75 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,003.89 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $92.43 and a 200 day simple moving average of $88.47. Casella Waste Systems has a 1 year low of $74.05 and a 1 year high of $107.96.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST - Get Free Report) last issued its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts' consensus estimates of $0.36 by $0.04. The firm had revenue of $543.75 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $526.43 million. Casella Waste Systems had a net margin of 0.29% and a return on equity of 5.32%. The company's quarterly revenue was up 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter last year, the business posted $0.36 earnings per share. Research analysts anticipate that Casella Waste Systems will post 1.24 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Casella Waste Systems

In related news, Director Douglas Casella sold 1,343 shares of the stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The stock was sold at an average price of $91.12, for a total value of $122,374.16. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 90,141 shares in the company, valued at $8,213,647.92. This represents a 1.47% 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 Michael Burke sold 1,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.26, for a total value of $104,786.00. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 13,641 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,299,441.66. This represents a 7.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last three months, insiders sold 18,700 shares of company stock worth $1,709,494. 3.78% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Casella Waste Systems

Institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC bought a new stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems during the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new stake in Casella Waste Systems during the second quarter worth approximately $29,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC increased its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 41.0% in 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 in the last quarter. Public Employees Retirement System of Ohio bought a new stake in Casella Waste Systems in the second quarter worth approximately $36,000. Finally, SHP Wealth Management acquired a new position in Casella Waste Systems in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $43,000. 99.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Casella Waste Systems Company Profile

Casella Waste Systems, Inc is a regional solid waste services company headquartered in Rutland, Vermont. Founded in 1975, the company provides waste collection, transfer, disposal, recycling and resource-recovery services to residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers.

Casella's services include curbside and commercial waste collection, construction and demolition debris management, transfer station operations, recycling of paper, cardboard, plastics and other materials, and organics recycling.

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