Brokerages Set Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) Target Price at $113.80

Shares of Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST - Get Free Report) have received a consensus recommendation of "Moderate Buy" from the six research firms that are currently covering the company, Marketbeat reports. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have assigned a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company. The average 1 year target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $113.80.

A number of research analysts have recently commented on CWST shares. William Blair started coverage on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Jefferies Financial Group cut shares of Casella Waste Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the stock from $115.00 to $113.00 in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus raised their target price on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their target price on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $114.00 to $107.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research note on Friday, November 1st.

Casella Waste Systems Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CWST traded down $1.16 during trading hours on Tuesday, hitting $107.75. 121,286 shares of the stock were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 279,704. Casella Waste Systems has a 1-year low of $84.45 and a 1-year high of $114.88. The company has a market cap of $6.82 billion, a PE ratio of 897.75, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 3.81 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a current ratio of 2.55. The company's fifty day simple moving average is $108.51 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $105.46.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST - Get Free Report) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.01). Casella Waste Systems had a net margin of 0.46% and a return on equity of 3.04%. The business had revenue of $411.63 million during the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $412.59 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.35 EPS. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Casella Waste Systems will post 0.65 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other Casella Waste Systems news, SVP Paul Ligon sold 1,730 shares of the firm's stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.81, for a total transaction of $184,781.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 21,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,252,088.85. This trade represents a 7.58 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this link. Insiders own 4.24% of the company's stock.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Casella Waste Systems

Large investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Valmark Advisers Inc. boosted its position in Casella Waste Systems by 1.6% during the fourth quarter. Valmark Advisers Inc. now owns 14,499 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $1,534,000 after acquiring an additional 225 shares during the last quarter. Principal Securities Inc. lifted its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 11.0% in the 4th quarter. Principal Securities Inc. now owns 1,979 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $209,000 after purchasing an additional 196 shares during the period. Congress Asset Management Co. bought a new stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems during the 4th quarter valued at about $349,000. Rhumbline Advisers boosted its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 2.9% during the 4th quarter. Rhumbline Advisers now owns 86,858 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $9,190,000 after purchasing an additional 2,454 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Van ECK Associates Corp grew its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 11.5% during the fourth quarter. Van ECK Associates Corp now owns 34,481 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $3,648,000 after purchasing an additional 3,554 shares during the period. 99.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Casella Waste Systems

Casella Waste Systems, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a vertically integrated solid waste services company in the United States. It offers resource management services primarily in the areas of solid waste collection and disposal, transfer, recycling, and organics services to residential, commercial, municipal, institutional, and industrial customers.