Casella Waste Systems' (CWST) Outperform Rating Reiterated at William Blair

William Blair reissued their outperform rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST - Free Report) in a research report sent to investors on Tuesday morning,RTT News reports.

A number of other analysts also recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group increased their target price on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Friday, April 11th. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They set a "buy" rating and a $130.00 target price for the company. Cowen restated a "buy" rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Friday, June 6th. Finally, Raymond James Financial restated a "strong-buy" rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Wednesday, April 16th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, five have given a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average target price of $122.67.

Casella Waste Systems Trading Down 1.5%

NASDAQ:CWST traded down $1.62 on Tuesday, reaching $107.94. 542,047 shares of the stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 392,408. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 490.66, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.02 and a beta of 0.84. The company's 50 day moving average is $114.97 and its 200-day moving average is $112.37. The company has a current ratio of 1.96, a quick ratio of 1.87 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Casella Waste Systems has a 1-year low of $91.01 and a 1-year high of $121.24.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST - Get Free Report) last released its 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. The business had revenue of $417.10 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $403.64 million. Casella Waste Systems had a net margin of 0.79% and a return on equity of 4.69%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 22.3% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.15 EPS. Equities research analysts anticipate that Casella Waste Systems will post 1.16 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In related news, President Edmond Coletta sold 5,562 shares of the stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $119.18, for a total value of $662,879.16. Following the transaction, the president directly owned 150,093 shares in the company, valued at $17,888,083.74. This trade represents a 3.57% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this link. 3.81% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Casella Waste Systems

A number of large investors have recently modified their holdings of CWST. Maseco LLP bought a new position in shares of Casella Waste Systems in the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 301.6% in the 1st 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 in the last quarter. Covestor Ltd lifted its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 124.4% in the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 276 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $29,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares in the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in shares of Casella Waste Systems in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, NBC Securities Inc. bought a new position in shares of Casella Waste Systems in the 1st quarter worth $31,000. 99.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

About Casella Waste Systems

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.