UBS Group Cuts Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) Price Target to $130.00

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) had its price target lowered by equities researchers at UBS Group from $140.00 to $130.00 in a report issued on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “buy” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. UBS Group’s price objective points to a potential upside of 45.79% from the stock’s current price.

Several other research analysts also recently commented on the stock. Weiss Ratings downgraded shares of Casella Waste Systems from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. Jefferies Financial Group set a $120.00 price target on Casella Waste Systems and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 6th. Barclays raised their price objective on Casella Waste Systems from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their target price 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. Finally, Zacks Research raised shares of Casella Waste Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, January 1st. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have assigned a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Casella Waste Systems currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $113.11.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Performance

Shares of Casella Waste Systems stock traded down $6.58 on Tuesday, hitting $89.17. The stock had a trading volume of 916,629 shares, compared to its average volume of 744,874. The stock has a market cap of $5.66 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 743.15 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Casella Waste Systems has a twelve month low of $82.22 and a twelve month high of $121.24. The business’s 50 day moving average is $100.60 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.68.

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

Insider Activity

In related news, CAO Kevin Drohan sold 675 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total transaction of $62,511.75. Following the transaction, the chief accounting officer owned 7,462 shares in the company, valued at $691,055.82. The trade was a 8.30% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available at the SEC website. Also, President Edmond Coletta sold 3,812 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.70, for a total transaction of $357,184.40. Following the completion of the sale, the president owned 147,091 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $13,782,426.70. The trade was a 2.53% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. Insiders sold 11,213 shares of company stock worth $1,045,887 in the last quarter. 3.81% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors and hedge funds have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. lifted its holdings in shares of 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 worth $27,000 after purchasing an additional 184 shares in the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC acquired a new position in Casella Waste Systems during the fourth quarter worth $25,000. Los Angeles Capital Management LLC acquired a new position in Casella Waste Systems during the fourth quarter worth $27,000. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC lifted its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 235.3% in the second quarter. EverSource Wealth Advisors LLC now owns 285 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $33,000 after buying an additional 200 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Smartleaf Asset Management LLC grew its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 180.2% during the third quarter. Smartleaf Asset Management LLC now owns 297 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $27,000 after buying an additional 191 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors own 99.51% of the company’s stock.

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.