Brokerages Set Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) Price Target at $110.12

Shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) have received an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the eleven research firms that are presently covering the firm, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a sell recommendation, two have given a hold recommendation, seven have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 12 month price objective among brokers that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $110.1250.

Several research analysts recently weighed in on CWST shares. Barclays raised Casella Waste Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their target price for the stock from $101.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Monday, May 4th. UBS Group dropped their price target on Casella Waste Systems from $130.00 to $122.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Friday, June 26th. Zacks Research upgraded Casella Waste Systems from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, TD Cowen reaffirmed a “buy” rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research note on Friday, June 5th.

Insider Activity at Casella Waste Systems

In related news, CEO Edmond Coletta sold 12,500 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.56, for a total value of $1,119,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 140,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,548,968.08. This trade represents a 8.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Also, Director Michael K. Burke sold 2,305 shares of Casella Waste Systems stock in a transaction that occurred on Tuesday, May 26th. The shares were sold at an average price of $87.56, for a total transaction of $201,825.80. Following the transaction, the director directly owned 14,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,230,042.88. This trade represents a 14.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Company insiders own 3.78% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Casella Waste Systems

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the business. Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 9.7% in the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,574,893 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $643,945,000 after purchasing an additional 581,310 shares in the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP lifted its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 1.5% during the fourth quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,765,442 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $368,787,000 after purchasing an additional 56,914 shares in the last quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 1.0% during the first quarter. Conestoga Capital Advisors LLC now owns 2,804,475 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $222,507,000 after purchasing an additional 27,148 shares in the last quarter. Invesco Ltd. boosted its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 12.5% in the fourth quarter. Invesco Ltd. now owns 2,703,855 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $264,816,000 after buying an additional 300,102 shares during the period. Finally, Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 23.7% in the fourth quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 2,488,034 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $243,678,000 after buying an additional 477,216 shares during the period. Hedge funds and other institutional investors own 99.51% of the company’s stock.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Performance

Shares of CWST stock opened at $89.50 on Tuesday. 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 firm has a market capitalization of $5.69 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 813.71 and a beta of 0.74. Casella Waste Systems has a one year low of $74.05 and a one year high of $109.46. The company has a 50 day moving average price of $90.62 and a 200 day moving average price of $90.95.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.20 earnings per share for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.10. Casella Waste Systems had a net margin of 0.38% and a return on equity of 5.19%. The company had revenue of $457.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $454.49 million. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.19 EPS. Casella Waste Systems’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. Sell-side analysts anticipate that Casella Waste Systems will post 1.06 EPS for the current year.

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.