Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) Receives $114.00 Consensus Target Price from Analysts

Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST - Get Free Report) has received a consensus rating of "Buy" from the five ratings firms that are currently covering the stock, Marketbeat reports. One research analyst has rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating on the company. The average twelve-month price objective among brokers that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $114.00.

A number of equities research analysts have recently issued reports on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus boosted their price target on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, December 11th. Raymond James boosted their target price on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $121.00 to $122.00 and gave the company a "strong-buy" rating in a research note on Thursday, September 19th. William Blair began coverage on Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an "outperform" rating for the company. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft dropped their price target on Casella Waste Systems from $114.00 to $107.00 and set a "hold" rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, November 1st.

Casella Waste Systems Price Performance

Shares of NASDAQ:CWST traded up $1.00 on Friday, reaching $105.20. 234,443 shares of the company traded hands, compared to its average volume of 223,572. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.66 billion, a PE ratio of 876.67, a P/E/G ratio of 6.53 and a beta of 1.02. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a current ratio of 2.55 and a quick ratio of 2.48. The company's 50 day moving average is $107.34 and its 200-day moving average is $104.27. Casella Waste Systems has a fifty-two week low of $80.04 and a fifty-two week high of $114.88.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST - Get Free Report) last announced its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.01). The company had revenue of $411.63 million for the quarter, compared to analysts' expectations of $412.59 million. Casella Waste Systems had a net margin of 0.46% and a return on equity of 3.04%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the prior year, the company earned $0.35 earnings per share. As a group, analysts anticipate that Casella Waste Systems will post 0.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Paul Ligon sold 1,730 shares of the stock in a transaction that occurred on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.81, for a total value of $184,781.30. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now owns 21,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,252,088.85. This represents a 7.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 4.24% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Institutional Trading of Casella Waste Systems

Institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the business. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. raised its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 108.0% during the 3rd quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 66,129 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $6,579,000 after purchasing an additional 34,340 shares in the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC raised its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 667.9% during the second quarter. Millennium Management LLC now owns 48,231 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $4,785,000 after buying an additional 41,950 shares in the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC lifted its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 8.3% in the third quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,430,958 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $142,393,000 after buying an additional 109,288 shares during the last quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP boosted its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 3.1% during the 2nd quarter. Dimensional Fund Advisors LP now owns 861,463 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $85,476,000 after acquiring an additional 26,189 shares in the last quarter. Finally, MQS Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Casella Waste Systems during the 3rd quarter valued at about $562,000. 99.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Casella Waste Systems Company Profile

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.