Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) Rating Increased to Hold at Zacks Research

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) was upgraded by stock analysts at Zacks Research from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report issued on Wednesday,Zacks.com reports.

Several other brokerages also recently commented on CWST. TD Cowen reiterated a “buy” rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research note on Friday, June 5th. UBS Group decreased their price target on 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. Weiss Ratings reaffirmed a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Friday, May 22nd. Finally, Barclays raised Casella Waste Systems from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and increased their price objective for the company from $101.00 to $102.00 in a research report on Monday, May 4th. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have issued a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Casella Waste Systems currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $110.12.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Down 3.5%

Shares of Casella Waste Systems stock opened at $95.37 on Wednesday. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $88.13 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $91.69. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.07 billion, a PE ratio of 867.08 and a beta of 0.74. Casella Waste Systems has a 52-week low of $74.05 and a 52-week high of $112.88. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a current ratio of 1.38.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.20 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.10. The firm had revenue of $457.33 million for the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $454.49 million. Casella Waste Systems had a net margin of 0.38% and a return on equity of 5.19%. The business’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.19 earnings per share. On average, analysts anticipate that Casella Waste Systems will post 1.12 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insiders Place Their Bets

In related news, Director Michael K. Burke sold 2,305 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 26th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.56, for a total transaction of $201,825.80. Following the completion of the sale, the director owned 14,048 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,230,042.88. This represents a 14.10% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Edmond Coletta sold 12,500 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.56, for a total value of $1,119,500.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 140,118 shares in the company, valued at approximately $12,548,968.08. This represents a 8.19% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Company insiders own 3.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Casella Waste Systems

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in the business. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 41.0% in the 4th quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 337 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $33,000 after purchasing an additional 98 shares during the period. Mackenzie Financial Corp grew its position in Casella Waste Systems by 3.9% during the third quarter. Mackenzie Financial Corp now owns 3,975 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $377,000 after buying an additional 149 shares during the period. First Horizon Corp grew its position in Casella Waste Systems by 48.6% during the fourth quarter. First Horizon Corp now owns 489 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $48,000 after buying an additional 160 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 301.6% during the first 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 during the last quarter. Finally, CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC increased its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 46.8% during the fourth quarter. CIBC Private Wealth Group LLC now owns 662 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $65,000 after buying an additional 211 shares during the last quarter. Hedge funds and other institutional investors 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.