UBS Group Cuts Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) Price Target to $130.00

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) had its price target cut by UBS Group from $140.00 to $130.00 in a research report report published on Tuesday,Benzinga reports. They currently have a buy rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

Several other research firms have also commented on CWST. Raymond James Financial restated 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. Jefferies Financial Group set a $120.00 target price on shares of Casella Waste Systems and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research note on Tuesday, January 6th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their price target on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Casella Waste Systems from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 1st. Finally, Barclays lifted their price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Two analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have given a Buy rating, two have given a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to MarketBeat, Casella Waste Systems currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $113.11.

Casella Waste Systems Price Performance

Shares of CWST opened at $90.68 on Tuesday. The business’s 50-day moving average is $100.04 and its two-hundred day moving average is $95.50. The company has a market capitalization of $5.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 755.73 and a beta of 0.80. Casella Waste Systems has a fifty-two week low of $82.22 and a fifty-two week high of $121.24. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a current ratio of 1.26.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating 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 return on equity of 5.17% and a net margin of 0.43%.The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $0.41 EPS. Research analysts predict that Casella Waste Systems will post 1.16 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Activity at Casella Waste Systems

In related news, CAO Kevin Drohan sold 675 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total value of $62,511.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 7,462 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $691,055.82. The trade was a 8.30% decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Also, CEO John W. Casella sold 6,726 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Friday, February 27th. The stock was sold at an average price of $93.10, for a total transaction of $626,190.60. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 27,989 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $2,605,775.90. This represents a 19.37% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. In the last quarter, insiders have sold 11,213 shares of company stock valued at $1,045,887. 3.81% of the stock is owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Casella Waste Systems

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