Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) Sets New 1-Year High – What’s Next?

Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) reached a new 52-week high during mid-day trading on Monday . The company traded as high as $114.64 and last traded at $113.30, with a volume of 6680 shares. The stock had previously closed at $113.21.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently issued reports on CWST shares. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft lowered their price target on Casella Waste Systems from $114.00 to $107.00 and set a “hold” rating on the stock in a report on Friday, November 1st. Stifel Nicolaus reissued a “buy” rating and set a $117.00 price target (up previously from $110.00) on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Monday, August 5th. William Blair started coverage on Casella Waste Systems in a report on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating on the stock. Finally, Raymond James raised their price target on Casella Waste Systems from $121.00 to $122.00 and gave the stock a “strong-buy” rating in a report on Thursday, September 19th. Two research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the stock has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $111.50.

Casella Waste Systems Price Performance

The stock has a fifty day simple moving average of $103.90 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $102.65. The company has a market cap of $7.16 billion, a PE ratio of 943.42, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 6.71 and a beta of 0.99. The company has a current ratio of 2.55, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last posted its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.27 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.28 by ($0.01). Casella Waste Systems had a net margin of 0.46% and a return on equity of 3.04%. The company had revenue of $411.63 million for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $412.59 million. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business posted $0.35 earnings per share. Casella Waste Systems’s revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. On average, equities analysts predict that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 0.65 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, SVP Paul Ligon sold 1,730 shares of the stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, November 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $106.81, for a total transaction of $184,781.30. Following the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 21,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,252,088.85. This represents a 7.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The transaction was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

A number of institutional investors and hedge funds have recently modified their holdings of the stock. Amalgamated Bank grew its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 6.4% during the 3rd quarter. Amalgamated Bank now owns 2,110 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $210,000 after purchasing an additional 126 shares during the period. Principal Financial Group Inc. boosted its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Principal Financial Group Inc. now owns 7,730 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $767,000 after acquiring an additional 135 shares during the period. GAMMA Investing LLC boosted its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 76.4% in the 2nd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 321 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $32,000 after acquiring an additional 139 shares during the period. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. boosted its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 1.8% in the 2nd quarter. Benjamin F. Edwards & Company Inc. now owns 10,436 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $1,035,000 after acquiring an additional 183 shares during the period. Finally, Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. boosted its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 3.6% in the 2nd quarter. Crossmark Global Holdings Inc. now owns 5,607 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $556,000 after acquiring an additional 195 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.51% of the company’s stock.

Casella Waste Systems Company Profile

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.