Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) Stock Has Average Price Target of $109.00 According to Brokerages

Key Points

• Analyst sentiment is moderately bullish: Nine brokerages give Casella Waste Systems a consensus “Moderate Buy” rating, with an average 12-month price target of $109, above the reported share price of $83.78.
• Casella exceeded quarterly expectations, reporting $0.40 in EPS versus the $0.36 consensus and $543.75 million in revenue, up 16.9% year over year.
• Institutional ownership is substantial at 99.51%, while insiders sold 18,700 shares worth approximately $1.71 million during the last quarter.

Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST - Get Free Report) has earned a consensus rating of "Moderate Buy" from the nine brokerages that are covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have assigned a hold recommendation, five have given a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $109.00.

CWST has been the topic of several analyst reports. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a "strong-buy" rating and set a $106.00 target price on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Friday. Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an "overweight" rating in a report on Monday, August 10th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Casella Waste Systems from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings lowered shares of Casella Waste Systems from a "sell (d+)" rating to a "sell (d)" rating in a research note on Friday, October 2nd. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Casella Waste Systems from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a "buy" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, June 26th.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Performance

Shares of Casella Waste Systems stock opened at $83.78 on Friday. The company has a market capitalization of $5.33 billion, a PE ratio of 930.99 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $89.02 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $87.71. Casella Waste Systems has a one year low of $74.05 and a one year high of $107.96. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST - Get Free Report) last released its quarterly 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 business had revenue of $543.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations 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 revenue was up 16.9% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same period last year, the business earned $0.36 EPS. Research analysts expect that Casella Waste Systems will post 1.23 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity 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 transaction, the director directly owned 90,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $8,213,647.92. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael Burke sold 1,100 shares of Casella Waste Systems stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.26, for a total transaction of $104,786.00. Following the sale, the director directly owned 13,641 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,299,441.66. This trade represents a 7.46% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders have sold 18,700 shares of company stock valued at $1,709,494 over the last quarter. 3.78% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Casella Waste Systems

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the business. Wasatch Advisors LP increased its position in Casella Waste Systems by 36.8% during the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,531,594 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $342,459,000 after buying an additional 949,374 shares during the period. Fifth Third Bancorp increased its position in Casella Waste Systems by 5,715.3% during the first quarter. Fifth Third Bancorp now owns 387,531 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $30,747,000 after buying an additional 380,867 shares in the last quarter. Ranger Investment Management L.P. acquired a new position in shares of Casella Waste Systems in the second quarter worth $32,045,000. Riverbridge Partners LLC acquired a new position in shares of Casella Waste Systems in the first quarter worth $13,742,000. Finally, Congruence Capital LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems in the fourth quarter valued at $16,766,000. 99.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Casella Waste Systems

Casella Waste Systems, Inc is a regional solid waste services company that provides collection, transfer, disposal, recycling and resource-management services. Its operations serve residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers, including communities, businesses and institutions seeking to manage and recover value from solid waste.

The company's activities include curbside and commercial waste collection, operation of transfer stations and landfills, recycling services, and the processing of organic materials.

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