Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) CAO Kevin Drohan Sells 675 Shares of Stock

Casella Waste Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:CWST) CAO Kevin Drohan sold 675 shares of Casella Waste Systems stock in a transaction dated Friday, February 27th. The shares were sold at an average price of $92.61, for a total transaction of $62,511.75. Following the completion of the sale, the chief accounting officer owned 7,462 shares in the company, valued at approximately $691,055.82. This represents a 8.30% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through this link.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Performance

CWST traded down $1.24 during trading hours on Monday, hitting $91.92. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 706,226 shares, compared to its average volume of 699,424. The company has a 50-day simple moving average of $101.39 and a 200 day simple moving average of $95.91. The company has a current ratio of 1.26, a quick ratio of 1.26 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72. The firm has a market capitalization of $5.84 billion, a PE ratio of 766.06 and a beta of 0.80. Casella Waste Systems, Inc. has a fifty-two week low of $82.22 and a fifty-two week high of $121.24.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last released its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, February 19th. The industrial products company reported $0.30 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping the consensus estimate of $0.22 by $0.08. Casella Waste Systems had a return on equity of 5.17% and a net margin of 0.43%.The company had revenue of $469.06 million during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $471.32 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the business posted $0.41 earnings per share. The company’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.7% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Casella Waste Systems, Inc. will post 1.16 EPS for the current year.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several large investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the stock. Pictet Asset Management Holding SA lifted its position 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 worth $97,040,000 after buying an additional 981,617 shares in the last quarter. State Street Corp increased its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 60.7% in the fourth quarter. State Street Corp now owns 2,306,780 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $225,926,000 after acquiring an additional 871,761 shares during 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 worth $100,067,000 after acquiring an additional 795,414 shares in the last quarter. UBS Group AG boosted its position in 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 purchasing an additional 730,128 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Vanguard Group Inc. boosted its position in Casella Waste Systems by 9.7% during 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 purchasing an additional 581,310 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.51% of the company’s stock.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

Several research analysts have recently issued reports on CWST shares. Raymond James Financial reiterated a “strong-buy” rating and issued a $115.00 price objective on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a report on Monday, February 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group decreased their price target on Casella Waste Systems from $125.00 to $111.00 and set a “buy” rating for the company in a research note on Monday, November 3rd. Barclays boosted their price objective on Casella Waste Systems from $95.00 to $101.00 and gave the stock an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Monday, February 23rd. JPMorgan Chase & Co. lowered their target price on Casella Waste Systems from $112.00 to $110.00 and set a “neutral” rating on the stock in a report on Monday, February 23rd. Finally, UBS Group upped their price target on shares of Casella Waste Systems from $135.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Monday, November 3rd. Two equities research analysts have rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, seven have issued a Buy rating, two have issued a Hold rating and one has issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company presently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus price target of $114.22.

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.