Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) Receives Consensus Rating of “Buy” from Analysts

Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) has been given an average rating of “Buy” by the five brokerages that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have issued a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 1-year price target among brokers that have covered the stock in the last year is $111.50.

A number of research analysts have commented on CWST shares. Raymond James increased their price objective on Casella Waste Systems from $121.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, September 19th. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on Casella Waste Systems from $114.00 to $107.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, William Blair began coverage on Casella Waste Systems in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating for the company.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CWST opened at $111.21 on Monday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $105.20 and a 200-day moving average of $103.13. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a current ratio of 2.55. Casella Waste Systems has a twelve month low of $80.04 and a twelve month high of $114.88. The firm has a market cap of $7.04 billion, a PE ratio of 926.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.64 and a beta of 1.02.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.27 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.01). Casella Waste Systems had a return on equity of 3.04% and a net margin of 0.46%. The company had revenue of $411.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $412.59 million. During the same period in the prior year, the firm posted $0.35 earnings per share. The company’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities research analysts predict that Casella Waste Systems will post 0.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Casella Waste Systems news, SVP Paul Ligon sold 1,730 shares of the stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.81, for a total value of $184,781.30. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 21,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,252,088.85. This trade represents a 7.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website. Company insiders own 4.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Casella Waste Systems

A number of large investors have recently made changes to their positions in the company. Cetera Advisors LLC bought a new stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems in the first quarter worth about $281,000. GAMMA Investing LLC grew its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 76.4% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $32,000 after purchasing an additional 139 shares during the period. Park Avenue Securities LLC increased its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 5.7% during the 2nd quarter. Park Avenue Securities LLC now owns 6,433 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $638,000 after purchasing an additional 346 shares in the last quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC raised its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 207.3% during the 2nd quarter. SG Americas Securities LLC now owns 8,186 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $812,000 after buying an additional 5,522 shares during the period. Finally, Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC lifted its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 4.2% in the second quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 41,886 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,156,000 after buying an additional 1,677 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.51% of the company’s stock.

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.