Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) Director Sells $86,727.78 in Stock

Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) Director John Casella sold 963 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, March 12th. The stock was sold at an average price of $90.06, for a total value of $86,727.78. Following the transaction, the director owned 32,539 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,930,462.34. This trade represents a 2.87% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink.

Casella Waste Systems Trading Up 0.4%

CWST stock traded up $0.37 during trading on Monday, hitting $88.46. The company had a trading volume of 537,239 shares, compared to its average volume of 760,229. The business has a 50-day moving average of $99.83 and a 200-day moving average of $95.36. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a one year low of $82.22 and a one year high of $121.24. The stock has a market cap of $5.62 billion, a PE ratio of 737.23 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.08. The firm had revenue of $469.06 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $471.32 million. Casella Waste Systems had a net margin of 0.43% and a return on equity of 5.17%. The company’s revenue was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter last year, the business earned $0.41 EPS. Research analysts predict that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Casella Waste Systems

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of CWST. AQR Capital Management LLC raised its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 57.7% during the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,035,000 after purchasing an additional 3,395 shares during the period. Jones Financial Companies Lllp grew its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 1,601.9% in the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 5,412 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $603,000 after buying an additional 5,094 shares during the period. Jane Street Group LLC increased its position in Casella Waste Systems by 3,226.1% in the 1st quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 69,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,789,000 after buying an additional 67,749 shares in the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position in Casella Waste Systems by 301.6% in the 1st quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. now owns 245 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can raised its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 26.4% during the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 7,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $871,000 after buying an additional 1,575 shares during the period. 99.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

CWST has been the topic of several recent analyst reports. Barclays boosted their target price on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Zacks Research raised Casella Waste Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 1st. Weiss Ratings lowered Casella Waste Systems from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $115.00 target price on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Casella Waste Systems from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $113.11.

Casella Waste Systems Company Profile

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.