Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) Receives $122.67 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) have earned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the seven research firms that are presently covering the firm, Marketbeat reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, four have assigned a buy recommendation and one has assigned a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average twelve-month price target among analysts that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $122.67.

CWST has been the topic of a number of analyst reports. TD Cowen started coverage on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Wednesday, April 9th. They issued a “buy” rating and a $130.00 price objective on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on Casella Waste Systems from $130.00 to $135.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, April 11th. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price on Casella Waste Systems from $127.00 to $129.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, February 18th. Raymond James reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Wednesday, April 16th. Finally, William Blair reissued an “outperform” rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Friday, February 14th.

Casella Waste Systems Price Performance

Casella Waste Systems stock opened at $118.50 on Friday. The stock has a market cap of $7.51 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 515.22, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.86 and a beta of 0.89. The firm has a 50-day moving average of $112.84 and a two-hundred day moving average of $109.80. Casella Waste Systems has a 1 year low of $91.01 and a 1 year high of $121.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70, a current ratio of 2.00 and a quick ratio of 2.48.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last announced its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $0.19 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.11 by $0.08. Casella Waste Systems had a return on equity of 4.15% and a net margin of 0.87%. The company had revenue of $417.10 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $403.64 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $0.15 earnings per share. Casella Waste Systems’s revenue was up 22.3% compared to the same quarter last year. On average, research analysts forecast that Casella Waste Systems will post 1.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Casella Waste Systems

In other Casella Waste Systems news, President Edmond Coletta sold 5,562 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the president now directly owns 150,093 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $17,888,083.74. The trade was a 3.57 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, SVP Paul Ligon sold 2,000 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, April 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $118.67, for a total transaction of $237,340.00. Following the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 20,347 shares in the company, valued at $2,414,578.49. The trade was a 8.95 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 4.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Casella Waste Systems

Several large investors have recently made changes to their positions in CWST. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 87.1% in the fourth quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 78,549 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,815,000 after buying an additional 36,573 shares in the last quarter. Bank of Montreal Can increased its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 71.7% in the 4th quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 5,200 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $550,000 after purchasing an additional 2,172 shares in the last quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. raised its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 2.4% in the 4th quarter. Charles Schwab Investment Management Inc. now owns 607,954 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $64,328,000 after purchasing an additional 14,369 shares during the period. Empowered Funds LLC acquired a new position in Casella Waste Systems in the 4th quarter worth about $201,000. Finally, Principal Securities Inc. grew its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 11.0% in the fourth quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,979 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $209,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the period. 99.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.