JPMorgan Chase & Co. Lowers Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) Price Target to $105.00

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) had its price target cut by equities researchers at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $110.00 to $105.00 in a research note issued on Monday,Benzinga reports. The firm presently has a “neutral” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.‘s price objective suggests a potential upside of 17.00% from the stock’s current price.

CWST has been the subject of several other reports. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Friday, June 5th. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Casella Waste Systems from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Wednesday, July 8th. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Friday, May 22nd. UBS Group decreased their target price on shares of 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. Finally, Barclays boosted their price target on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a report on Monday. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $109.75.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Up 0.4%

Casella Waste Systems stock traded up $0.34 during mid-day trading on Monday, hitting $89.75. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 538,795 shares, compared to its average volume of 760,122. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $91.19 and its 200 day moving average is $90.41. The company has a market cap of $5.71 billion, a PE ratio of 997.28 and a beta of 0.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a current ratio of 0.99 and a quick ratio of 1.38. Casella Waste Systems has a 52-week low of $74.05 and a 52-week high of $107.96.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last released its earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.40 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.04. Casella Waste Systems had a return on equity of 5.32% and a net margin of 0.29%.The company had revenue of $543.75 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $526.43 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.36 EPS. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts anticipate that Casella Waste Systems will post 1.06 earnings per share for the current year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In other Casella Waste Systems news, CEO Edmond Coletta sold 12,500 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The stock was sold at an average price of $89.56, for a total value of $1,119,500.00. Following the completion of the sale, the chief executive officer owned 140,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $12,548,968.08. The trade was a 8.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at this hyperlink. Also, Director Michael K. Burke sold 2,305 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.56, for a total value of $201,825.80. Following the sale, the director owned 14,048 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,230,042.88. This trade represents a 14.10% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Corporate insiders own 3.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of hedge funds have recently made changes to their positions in the stock. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 10,865.8% in the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 990,651 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $97,040,000 after purchasing an additional 981,617 shares during the last quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP grew its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 36.8% during the second quarter. Wasatch Advisors LP now owns 3,531,594 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $342,459,000 after purchasing an additional 949,374 shares during the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 60.7% during the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,306,780 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $225,926,000 after purchasing an additional 871,761 shares during the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. raised its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 1,106.7% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 867,285 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $100,067,000 after purchasing an additional 795,414 shares during the period. Finally, UBS Group AG raised its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 653.2% in the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 841,897 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $82,455,000 after purchasing an additional 730,128 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.51% of the company’s stock.

About Casella Waste Systems

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.