Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) Reaches New 1-Year High After Analyst Upgrade

Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST - Get Free Report)'s stock price reached a new 52-week high during trading on Tuesday after Stifel Nicolaus raised their price target on the stock from $127.00 to $129.00. Stifel Nicolaus currently has a buy rating on the stock. Casella Waste Systems traded as high as $115.07 and last traded at $114.93, with a volume of 276672 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $111.36.

Other research analysts have also issued research reports about the stock. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Casella Waste Systems from a "buy" rating to a "hold" rating and lowered their price objective for the company from $115.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. William Blair reaffirmed an "outperform" rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Friday, February 14th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their target price on Casella Waste Systems from $114.00 to $107.00 and set a "hold" rating for the company in a research note on Friday, November 1st. Two analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, two have issued a buy rating and one has issued a strong buy rating to the company's stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Casella Waste Systems presently has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $117.75.

Institutional Investors Weigh In On Casella Waste Systems

Hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently modified their holdings of the company. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. increased its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 108.0% in the third quarter. Harbor Capital Advisors Inc. now owns 66,129 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $6,579,000 after buying an additional 34,340 shares during the last quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC increased its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 87.1% in the 4th quarter. Wealth Enhancement Advisory Services LLC now owns 78,549 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $7,815,000 after acquiring an additional 36,573 shares during the last quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC raised its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 8.3% during the 3rd quarter. Geode Capital Management LLC now owns 1,430,958 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $142,393,000 after acquiring an additional 109,288 shares in the last quarter. MQS Management LLC purchased a new stake in Casella Waste Systems during the third quarter worth approximately $562,000. Finally, Loomis Sayles & Co. L P boosted its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 21.8% in the third quarter. Loomis Sayles & Co. L P now owns 848,976 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $84,465,000 after purchasing an additional 151,744 shares in the last quarter. 99.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Casella Waste Systems Trading Down 1.5 %

The company has a market cap of $7.22 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 495.61, a PEG ratio of 3.87 and a beta of 1.04. The company has a quick ratio of 2.48, a current ratio of 2.00 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.70. The business's fifty day simple moving average is $108.18 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $106.10.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, February 12th. The industrial products company reported $0.41 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.16 by $0.25. Casella Waste Systems had a net margin of 0.87% and a return on equity of 4.15%. On average, equities analysts predict that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.16 EPS for the current year.

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.