Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) Receives Average Recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from Brokerages

Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) has been assigned an average recommendation of “Moderate Buy” from the thirteen research firms that are currently covering the stock, MarketBeat Ratings reports. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, eight have assigned a buy recommendation and two have given a strong buy recommendation to the company. The average 1-year target price among brokerages that have issued a report on the stock in the last year is $114.3333.

Several equities research analysts recently issued reports on CWST shares. Weiss Ratings reiterated a “hold (c-)” rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Monday, December 29th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Loop Capital upgraded shares of Casella Waste Systems from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $88.00 target price for the company in a report on Friday, September 19th. Stifel Nicolaus assumed coverage on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Monday, September 29th. They set a “buy” rating and a $113.00 price target on the stock. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. assumed coverage on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Thursday, December 11th. They issued a “neutral” rating and a $112.00 price objective for the company.

Institutional Trading of Casella Waste Systems

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the business. Ameritas Advisory Services LLC bought a new stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems during the 2nd quarter worth $25,000. Maseco LLP purchased a new stake in Casella Waste Systems during the second quarter worth about $25,000. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd raised its position in Casella Waste Systems by 325.5% in the second quarter. Caitong International Asset Management Co. Ltd now owns 217 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $25,000 after acquiring an additional 166 shares during the period. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. boosted its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 301.6% in the first 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 last quarter. Finally, AlphaQuest LLC bought a new position in shares of Casella Waste Systems during the 2nd quarter valued at approximately $33,000. 99.51% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Casella Waste Systems Trading Down 1.1%

CWST opened at $99.69 on Friday. Casella Waste Systems has a fifty-two week low of $82.22 and a fifty-two week high of $121.24. The firm has a market capitalization of $6.33 billion, a PE ratio of 415.39 and a beta of 0.80. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 1.51 and a quick ratio of 1.43. The company’s 50-day moving average is $95.72 and its 200 day moving average is $97.87.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.42 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.33 by $0.09. The firm had revenue of $485.35 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $477.24 million. Casella Waste Systems had a return on equity of 5.63% and a net margin of 0.85%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 17.9% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the company posted $0.27 EPS. As a group, research analysts predict that Casella Waste Systems will post 1.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal 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.