Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) Receives $114.00 Average Price Target from Analysts

Shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) have earned an average recommendation of “Buy” from the five analysts that are currently covering the company, MarketBeat Ratings reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $114.00.

A number of brokerages have commented on CWST. Stifel Nicolaus lifted their target price on Casella Waste Systems from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. William Blair initiated coverage on Casella Waste Systems in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft cut their target price on Casella Waste Systems from $114.00 to $107.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Raymond James boosted their price target on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $121.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th.

Insider Activity

In related news, SVP Paul Ligon sold 1,730 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.81, for a total transaction of $184,781.30. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 21,085 shares in the company, valued at $2,252,088.85. This trade represents a 7.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Corporate insiders own 4.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Casella Waste Systems

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Amalgamated Bank raised its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 6.4% in the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,110 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $210,000 after buying an additional 126 shares in the last quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. raised its position in Casella Waste Systems by 1.8% in the second quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,730 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $767,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares in the last quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. lifted its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 10,436 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,035,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. boosted its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 5.9% during the 2nd quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,633 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $360,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares in the last quarter. Finally, GAMMA Investing LLC grew its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 64.5% in the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 528 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,000 after purchasing an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. 99.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Performance

CWST stock opened at $107.42 on Friday. The stock’s 50 day simple moving average is $107.82 and its 200 day simple moving average is $104.48. Casella Waste Systems has a 12-month low of $82.17 and a 12-month high of $114.88. The firm has a market cap of $6.80 billion, a P/E ratio of 895.17, a P/E/G ratio of 6.53 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a current ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last issued 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 business had revenue of $411.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $412.59 million. During the same period last year, the company posted $0.35 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. As a group, equities research analysts predict that Casella Waste Systems will post 0.65 EPS 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.