Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) Cut to Hold at Jefferies Financial Group

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) was downgraded by equities researchers at Jefferies Financial Group from a “buy” rating to a “hold” rating in a note issued to investors on Thursday,Briefing.com Automated Import reports. They presently have a $113.00 target price on the industrial products company’s stock, down from their prior target price of $115.00. Jefferies Financial Group’s price target would suggest a potential upside of 4.79% from the stock’s previous close.

Other research analysts have also issued reports about the company. William Blair began coverage on Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Thursday, October 3rd. They issued an “outperform” rating on the stock. Stifel Nicolaus raised their price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $117.00 to $127.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a research report on Wednesday, December 11th. Finally, Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their target price 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. Three analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, Casella Waste Systems currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $113.80.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Performance

CWST stock opened at $107.83 on Thursday. The firm has a 50 day simple moving average of $108.74 and a 200 day simple moving average of $105.26. Casella Waste Systems has a 52 week low of $84.45 and a 52 week high of $114.88. The stock has a market cap of $6.83 billion, a P/E ratio of 898.58, a P/E/G ratio of 3.95 and a beta of 1.03. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.68, a quick ratio of 2.48 and a current ratio of 2.55.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last issued its 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 period last year, the business earned $0.35 EPS. The company’s quarterly revenue was up 16.7% on a year-over-year basis. Research analysts anticipate that Casella Waste Systems will post 0.65 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

Insider Activity

In other news, SVP Paul Ligon sold 1,730 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction on Wednesday, November 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $106.81, for a total value of $184,781.30. Following the sale, the senior vice president now owns 21,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,252,088.85. This trade represents a 7.58 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this hyperlink. 4.24% of the stock is currently owned by company insiders.

Institutional Trading of Casella Waste Systems

Hedge funds have recently bought and sold shares of the stock. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 64.5% during the third quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 528 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $53,000 after buying an additional 207 shares during the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC bought a new position in Casella Waste Systems during the fourth quarter valued at about $58,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC raised its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 30.2% in the 4th quarter. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC now owns 798 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $84,000 after acquiring an additional 185 shares in the last quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC lifted its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 69.1% in the 4th quarter. Nisa Investment Advisors LLC now owns 1,495 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $158,000 after acquiring an additional 611 shares during the period. Finally, 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 in the last quarter. 99.51% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

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.