Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) Given Consensus Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by Analysts

Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) has been given a consensus recommendation of “Moderate Buy” by the six research firms that are covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1 year target price among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $120.20.

Several analysts have weighed in on CWST shares. Jefferies Financial Group cut Casella Waste Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their price target for the company from $115.00 to $113.00 in a report on Thursday, January 23rd. TD Cowen assumed coverage on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Wednesday. They set a “buy” rating and a $130.00 price target for the company. William Blair restated an “outperform” rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on Casella Waste Systems from $127.00 to $129.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Casella Waste Systems

Institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Mather Group LLC. increased its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 1,606.7% in the 4th quarter. Mather Group LLC. now owns 256 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 241 shares during the last quarter. Covestor Ltd increased its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 124.4% during the 4th quarter. Covestor Ltd now owns 276 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $29,000 after purchasing an additional 153 shares during the last quarter. Quarry LP bought a new position in Casella Waste Systems during the fourth quarter valued at $30,000. NBC Securities Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems in the first quarter valued at $31,000. Finally, Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 156.5% during the 4th quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 318 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $34,000 after purchasing an additional 194 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.51% of the company’s stock.

Casella Waste Systems Trading Up 6.8 %

Shares of NASDAQ:CWST traded up $7.11 during midday trading on Wednesday, hitting $110.89. 542,657 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 403,598. Casella Waste Systems has a 12 month low of $86.41 and a 12 month high of $116.31. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a current ratio of 2.00. The stock has a market capitalization of $7.03 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 484.02, a P/E/G ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.96. The business’s 50-day moving average price is $109.98 and its 200 day moving average price is $107.25.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $0.41 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.25. Casella Waste Systems had a net margin of 0.87% and a return on equity of 4.15%. Analysts predict that Casella Waste Systems will post 1.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Casella Waste Systems Company Profile

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.