Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) Shares Down 5.3% Following Analyst Downgrade

Shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) were down 5.3% on Tuesday after UBS Group lowered their price target on the stock from $140.00 to $130.00. UBS Group currently has a buy rating on the stock. Casella Waste Systems traded as low as $89.92 and last traded at $90.6630. Approximately 166,781 shares were traded during mid-day trading, a decline of 77% from the average daily volume of 734,366 shares. The stock had previously closed at $95.75.

CWST has been the topic of a number of other research reports. Barclays raised 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 research report on Monday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a research note 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 report on Tuesday, January 6th. Raymond James Financial reissued a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Casella Waste Systems from a “hold (c-)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Two investment 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 issued a Sell rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, the stock presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $113.11.

Insider Buying and Selling at Casella Waste Systems

In other news, 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 value 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. This trade represents a 2.53% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John W. Casella sold 6,726 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $93.10, for a total value of $626,190.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer directly owned 27,989 shares in the company, valued at $2,605,775.90. This represents a 19.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders sold a total of 11,213 shares of company stock worth $1,045,887 over the last three months. Corporate insiders own 3.81% 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 business. AQR Capital Management LLC increased 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 acquiring an additional 3,395 shares in the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 1,601.9% during the 1st quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 5,412 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $603,000 after purchasing an additional 5,094 shares in the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC grew its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 3,226.1% during the first 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 during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased its position 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 valued at $27,000 after acquiring an additional 184 shares during the period. Finally, Bank of Montreal Can increased its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 26.4% in the 2nd quarter. Bank of Montreal Can now owns 7,550 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $871,000 after acquiring an additional 1,575 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.51% of the company’s stock.

Casella Waste Systems Price Performance

The stock has a 50 day moving average of $100.18 and a 200-day moving average of $95.53. 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 company has a market cap of $5.60 billion, a PE ratio of 735.31 and a beta of 0.80.

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

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.