Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) Downgraded by Zacks Research to Strong Sell

Zacks Research lowered shares of Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) from a hold rating to a strong sell rating in a report issued on Tuesday,Zacks.com reports.

A number of other research analysts have also issued reports on CWST. Weiss Ratings restated a “sell (d)” rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research note on Friday, May 22nd. UBS Group cut their price target on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $140.00 to $130.00 and set a “buy” rating on the stock in a research note on Tuesday, March 10th. TD Cowen restated a “buy” rating on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research note on Friday, June 5th. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, JPMorgan Chase & Co. dropped their price objective 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. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, eight have given a Buy rating, one has given a Hold rating and two have assigned a Sell rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, the company has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $111.13.

Casella Waste Systems Trading Up 3.7%

Shares of Casella Waste Systems stock opened at $91.03 on Tuesday. The company has a current ratio of 1.38, a quick ratio of 1.38 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. Casella Waste Systems has a 12-month low of $74.05 and a 12-month high of $118.91. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.79 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 827.62 and a beta of 0.77. The firm’s 50 day simple moving average is $84.21 and its two-hundred day simple moving average is $92.46.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, April 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.20 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.10 by $0.10. Casella Waste Systems had a net margin of 0.38% and a return on equity of 5.19%. The business had revenue of $457.33 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $454.49 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.19 EPS. Casella Waste Systems’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.6% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts predict that Casella Waste Systems will post 1.12 EPS for the current year.

Insider Activity

In other news, CEO Edmond Coletta sold 12,500 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Tuesday, May 19th. The shares were sold at an average price of $89.56, for a total value of $1,119,500.00. Following the transaction, the chief executive officer owned 140,118 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $12,548,968.08. This represents a 8.19% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, Director John W. Casella sold 1,744 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction on Monday, March 16th. The stock was sold at an average price of $87.77, for a total transaction of $153,070.88. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 30,795 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,702,877.15. The trade was a 5.36% decrease in their position. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last three months, insiders sold 18,027 shares of company stock worth $1,604,141. Company insiders own 3.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently made changes to their positions in CWST. AQR Capital Management LLC increased its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 57.7% in the first quarter. AQR Capital Management LLC now owns 9,283 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $1,035,000 after acquiring an additional 3,395 shares during the last quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp increased its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 1,601.9% in the first quarter. Jones Financial Companies Lllp now owns 5,412 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $603,000 after acquiring an additional 5,094 shares during the last quarter. Jane Street Group LLC increased its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 3,226.1% in the first quarter. Jane Street Group LLC now owns 69,849 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $7,789,000 after acquiring an additional 67,749 shares during the last quarter. Geneos Wealth Management Inc. increased 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, Quantbot Technologies LP bought a new position in Casella Waste Systems in the second quarter valued at $63,000. Institutional investors own 99.51% of the company’s stock.

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.