Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) Stock Has Average Target Price of $104.80

Key Points

• Analysts have a Moderate Buy consensus on Casella Waste Systems, based on eight ratings, with an average 12-month price target of $104.80. Recent recommendations were mixed, including UBS downgrading the stock to neutral and JPMorgan maintaining a neutral rating.
• Casella beat quarterly estimates, reporting EPS of $0.40 versus $0.36 expected and revenue of $543.75 million versus $526.43 million; revenue rose 16.9% year over year.
• The stock opened at $98.88, within its 52-week range of $74.05–$107.96. Insiders sold 18,700 shares worth about $1.71 million over the past three months, while institutional investors own 99.51% of shares.

Shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the eight ratings firms that are covering the stock, MarketBeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, three have assigned a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12-month target price among analysts that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $104.80.

CWST has been the subject of several recent analyst reports. UBS Group lowered shares of Casella Waste Systems from a "buy" rating to a "neutral" rating and dropped their price objective for the stock from $122.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their target price on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $91.00 to $99.00 and gave the company a "neutral" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Zacks Research raised shares of Casella Waste Systems from a "strong sell" rating to a "hold" rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating and issued a $106.00 target price on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, Barclays lifted their price target on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the stock an "overweight" rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th.

Casella Waste Systems Price Performance

NASDAQ:CWST opened at $98.88 on Thursday. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.29 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,098.79 and a beta of 0.71. Casella Waste Systems has a 1 year low of $74.05 and a 1 year high of $107.96. The business has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.01 and a 200-day simple moving average of $90.16. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 0.99.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.04. Casella Waste Systems had a return on equity of 5.32% and a net margin of 0.29%. The firm had revenue of $543.75 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $526.43 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company posted $0.36 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.9% compared to the same quarter last year. Equities analysts forecast that Casella Waste Systems will post 1.22 EPS for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Casella Waste Systems

In related news, Director Douglas Casella sold 1,343 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.12, for a total value of $122,374.16. Following the sale, the director directly owned 90,141 shares of the company's stock, valued at $8,213,647.92. This represents a 1.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael Burke sold 1,100 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.26, for a total transaction of $104,786.00. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 13,641 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,299,441.66. The trade was a 7.46% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Insiders sold a total of 18,700 shares of company stock worth $1,709,494 over the last three months. 3.78% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Casella Waste Systems

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the business. Keybank National Association OH grew its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 57.7% in the 3rd quarter. Keybank National Association OH now owns 11,464 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $921,000 after acquiring an additional 4,193 shares in the last quarter. Searle & CO. increased its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 39.5% during the third quarter. Searle & CO. now owns 16,600 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $1,334,000 after acquiring an additional 4,700 shares during the period. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC increased its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 6.0% during the third quarter. Allspring Global Investments Holdings LLC now owns 659,597 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $51,495,000 after acquiring an additional 37,533 shares during the period. Associated Banc Corp bought a new stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems during the third quarter valued at approximately $313,000. Finally, Vise Technologies Inc. bought a new stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems during the third quarter valued at approximately $603,000. 99.51% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Casella Waste Systems Company Profile

Casella Waste Systems, Inc is a regional solid waste services company founded in 1975 and headquartered in Rutland, Vermont. The company provides collection, transfer, disposal, recycling and organics services for residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers.

Casella operates an integrated network of solid waste management assets, including transfer stations, recycling facilities, landfills, composting and organics-processing operations, and resource-recovery facilities.

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