Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) Shares Up 7.3% – Time to Buy?

Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST)’s stock price rose 7.3% during trading on Thursday . The company traded as high as $87.60 and last traded at $87.4650. Approximately 677,609 shares changed hands during mid-day trading, a decline of 12% from the average daily volume of 769,149 shares. The stock had previously closed at $81.54.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several equities analysts recently issued reports on CWST shares. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price target on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Zacks Research raised shares of Casella Waste Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 1st. JPMorgan Chase & Co. cut their price target on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Finally, UBS Group dropped their target price on Casella Waste Systems from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, March 10th. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $113.11.

Casella Waste Systems Price Performance

The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26. The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $94.10 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.04. The firm has a market cap of $5.52 billion, a PE ratio of 724.61 and a beta of 0.84.

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

Insider Transactions at Casella Waste Systems

In other news, CFO Bradford John Helgeson sold 405 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.73, for a total value of $35,530.65. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief financial officer owned 7,342 shares in the company, valued at $644,113.66. This trade represents a 5.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is available through the SEC website. Also, CAO Kevin Drohan sold 675 shares of Casella Waste Systems stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total value of $62,511.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer directly owned 7,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $691,055.82. This trade represents a 8.30% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 15,830 shares of company stock worth $1,454,208. 3.81% of the stock is currently owned by insiders.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Casella Waste Systems

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CWST. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA increased its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 10,865.8% during 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 in the last quarter. State Street Corp lifted its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 60.7% in the 4th quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,306,780 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $225,926,000 after buying an additional 871,761 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 1,106.7% during the 2nd quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 867,285 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $100,067,000 after buying an additional 795,414 shares during the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its position in Casella Waste Systems by 653.2% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 841,897 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $82,455,000 after buying an additional 730,128 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its position in Casella Waste Systems by 9.7% during the 4th quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,574,893 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $643,945,000 after purchasing an additional 581,310 shares in the last quarter. 99.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

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.