JPMorgan Chase & Co. Issues Positive Forecast for Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) Stock Price

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) had its price objective upped by research analysts at JPMorgan Chase & Co. from $91.00 to $99.00 in a report issued on Wednesday, Benzinga reports. The brokerage presently has a “neutral” rating on the industrial products company’s stock. JPMorgan Chase & Co.’s target price points to a potential upside of 8.92% from the stock’s previous close.

Several other equities analysts have also weighed in on the stock. Zacks Research upgraded shares of Casella Waste Systems from a “strong sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a report on Wednesday, July 8th. Barclays raised their price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $102.00 to $104.00 and gave the company an “overweight” rating in a research note on Monday, August 10th. Weiss Ratings raised shares of Casella Waste Systems from a “sell (d)” rating to a “sell (d+)” rating in a report on Friday. Raymond James Financial reaffirmed a “strong-buy” rating and set a $106.00 target price on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Friday, October 9th. Finally, UBS Group cut shares of Casella Waste Systems from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and dropped their target price for the company from $122.00 to $95.00 in a research report on Wednesday. One research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have assigned a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Casella Waste Systems currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $105.83.

Casella Waste Systems Trading Down 2.3%

Casella Waste Systems stock traded down $2.18 during trading hours on Wednesday, reaching $90.89. 152,947 shares of the company’s stock traded hands, compared to its average volume of 704,320. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.78 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 1,011.10 and a beta of 0.78. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.84, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a current ratio of 0.99. Casella Waste Systems has a fifty-two week low of $74.05 and a fifty-two week high of $107.96. The firm’s 50 day moving average is $88.43 and its 200-day moving average is $88.23.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, August 6th. The industrial products company reported $0.40 EPS for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.36 by $0.04. Casella Waste Systems had a net margin of 0.29% and a return on equity of 5.32%. The company had revenue of $543.75 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $526.43 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.36 EPS. Casella Waste Systems’s revenue was up 16.9% on a year-over-year basis. On average, analysts predict that Casella Waste Systems will post 1.22 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Transactions at Casella Waste Systems

In other news, Director Michael Burke sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, September 3rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $95.26, for a total transaction of $104,786.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 13,641 shares in the company, valued at approximately $1,299,441.66. The trade was a 7.46% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this hyperlink. Also, Director Douglas Casella sold 15,157 shares of the company’s stock in a transaction dated Thursday, August 13th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.05, for a total value of $1,380,044.85. Following the completion of the sale, the director directly owned 91,484 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,329,618.20. This trade represents a 14.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The SEC filing for this sale provides additional information. In the last 90 days, insiders have sold 18,700 shares of company stock worth $1,709,494. Company insiders own 3.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently bought and sold shares of the company. Versant Capital Management Inc grew its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 54.8% during the third quarter. Versant Capital Management Inc now owns 449 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $36,000 after purchasing an additional 159 shares during the period. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. increased its stake in Casella Waste Systems by 4.9% in the third quarter. ZWJ Investment Counsel Inc. now owns 4,006 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $322,000 after purchasing an additional 188 shares in the last quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC raised its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 86.5% in the first quarter. Hilton Head Capital Partners LLC now owns 468 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $37,000 after purchasing an additional 217 shares during the period. Comprehensive Financial Planning Inc. PA acquired a new stake in Casella Waste Systems in the second quarter worth $29,000. Finally, KBC Group NV raised its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 21.0% in the first quarter. KBC Group NV now owns 2,019 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $160,000 after purchasing an additional 351 shares during the period. Institutional investors own 99.51% of the company’s stock.

Casella Waste Systems Company Profile

Casella Waste Systems, Inc is a regional solid waste services company founded in 1975 and headquartered in Rutland, Vermont. The company provides collection, transfer, disposal, recycling and organics services for residential, commercial, industrial and municipal customers.

Casella operates an integrated network of solid waste management assets, including transfer stations, recycling facilities, landfills, composting and organics-processing operations, and resource-recovery facilities.