Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) Hits New 52-Week Low – Here’s What Happened

Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) shares hit a new 52-week low on Thursday . The company traded as low as $74.05 and last traded at $76.43, with a volume of 813726 shares changing hands. The stock had previously closed at $76.06.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several equities research analysts have recently issued reports on CWST shares. Jefferies Financial Group set a $120.00 price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Tuesday, January 6th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Monday, February 23rd. UBS Group reduced their target price on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. Barclays increased their target price on Casella Waste Systems from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, Zacks Research raised Casella Waste Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Thursday, January 1st. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, two have assigned a Hold rating and one has assigned a Sell rating to the stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Casella Waste Systems has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $113.11.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Up 0.5%

The stock’s fifty day moving average price is $96.82 and its 200-day moving average price is $94.53. The company has a quick ratio of 1.26, a current ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The company has a market capitalization of $4.85 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 636.97 and a beta of 0.80.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last announced its earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $0.30 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.08. The business had revenue of $469.06 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $471.32 million. Casella Waste Systems had a net margin of 0.43% and a return on equity of 5.17%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the company posted $0.41 earnings per share. On average, sell-side analysts predict that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.16 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Casella Waste Systems

In related news, CFO Bradford John Helgeson sold 405 shares of Casella Waste Systems stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.73, for a total value of $35,530.65. Following the sale, the chief financial officer owned 7,342 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $644,113.66. The trade was a 5.23% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, CEO Edmond Coletta sold 988 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.81, for a total value of $86,756.28. Following the sale, the chief executive officer owned 152,618 shares in the company, valued at $13,401,386.58. The trade was a 0.64% decrease in their position. Additional details regarding this sale are available in the official SEC disclosure. Over the last 90 days, insiders sold 15,830 shares of company stock valued at $1,454,208. Corporate insiders own 3.81% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CWST. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA raised its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 10,865.8% during the 4th quarter. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA now owns 990,651 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $97,040,000 after purchasing an additional 981,617 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp grew its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 60.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,306,780 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $225,926,000 after buying an additional 871,761 shares in the last quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. grew its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 1,106.7% in the second quarter. Alliancebernstein L.P. now owns 867,285 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $100,067,000 after buying an additional 795,414 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG increased its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 653.2% during the fourth quarter. UBS Group AG now owns 841,897 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $82,455,000 after buying an additional 730,128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. increased its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 9.7% during the fourth quarter. Vanguard Group Inc. now owns 6,574,893 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $643,945,000 after buying an additional 581,310 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.51% of the company’s stock.

Casella Waste Systems Company Profile

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.