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

Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) has earned an average rating of “Moderate Buy” from the six brokerages that are presently covering the company, Marketbeat.com reports. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold recommendation, three have assigned a buy recommendation and one has issued a strong buy recommendation on the company. The average 12 month target price among brokerages that have issued ratings on the stock in the last year is $113.80.

A number of analysts have recently issued reports on CWST shares. Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Casella Waste Systems from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating and lowered their target price for the company from $115.00 to $113.00 in a research note on Thursday, January 23rd. Stifel Nicolaus upped their target price on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research note on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft decreased their price target on shares of 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.

Insider Transactions at Casella Waste Systems

In related news, SVP Paul Ligon sold 1,730 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.81, for a total transaction of $184,781.30. Following the completion of the sale, the senior vice president now directly owns 21,085 shares in the company, valued at $2,252,088.85. This represents a 7.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this link. Corporate insiders own 4.24% of the company’s stock.

Hedge Funds Weigh In On Casella Waste Systems

A number of large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC grew its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 12.8% in the 2nd quarter. Vanguard Personalized Indexing Management LLC now owns 2,743 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $272,000 after buying an additional 311 shares during the last quarter. Xponance Inc. grew its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 5.9% in the second quarter. Xponance Inc. now owns 3,633 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $360,000 after purchasing an additional 204 shares during the last quarter. Millennium Management LLC increased its position in shares of 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 worth $4,785,000 after purchasing an additional 41,950 shares in the last quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company lifted its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 3.9% during the 2nd quarter. The Manufacturers Life Insurance Company now owns 34,328 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $3,406,000 after purchasing an additional 1,274 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC boosted its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 175.0% in the 2nd quarter. Susquehanna Fundamental Investments LLC now owns 8,800 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $873,000 after purchasing an additional 5,600 shares in the last quarter. 99.51% of the stock is currently owned by institutional investors.

Casella Waste Systems Price Performance

CWST opened at $108.94 on Tuesday. The business has a fifty day moving average of $108.33 and a 200 day moving average of $105.48. The stock has a market cap of $6.90 billion, a P/E ratio of 907.83, a PEG ratio of 3.85 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a quick ratio of 2.48, a current ratio of 2.55 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68. Casella Waste Systems has a 52-week low of $84.45 and a 52-week high of $114.88.

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.