Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) Given New $109.00 Price Target at Barclays

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) had its price target boosted by Barclays from $104.00 to $109.00 in a report issued on Wednesday,Benzinga reports. Barclays currently has an overweight rating on the industrial products company’s stock.

A number of other research firms also recently issued reports on CWST. Raymond James Financial restated a “strong-buy” rating and set a $106.00 target price on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research report on Friday, October 9th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. increased their price target on Casella Waste Systems from $91.00 to $99.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Wednesday, October 21st. UBS Group lowered Casella Waste Systems from a “buy” rating to a “neutral” rating and reduced their price objective for the company from $122.00 to $95.00 in a research note on Wednesday, October 21st. Finally, Weiss Ratings lowered Casella Waste Systems from a “sell (d+)” rating to a “sell (d)” rating in a research note on Friday, October 30th. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, three have issued a Buy rating, three have issued a Hold rating and one has given a Sell rating to the company. According to data from MarketBeat, Casella Waste Systems currently has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and a consensus target price of $105.80.

Casella Waste Systems Stock Performance

Shares of NASDAQ CWST opened at $98.53 on Wednesday. The company has a current ratio of 0.95, a quick ratio of 0.99 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.86. Casella Waste Systems has a 12 month low of $74.05 and a 12 month high of $107.96. The company has a 50 day simple moving average of $89.48 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $89.97. The stock has a market cap of $6.27 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of -547.36 and a beta of 0.71.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last released its quarterly earnings data on Monday, November 9th. The industrial products company reported $0.35 earnings per share for the quarter, missing analysts’ consensus estimates of $0.41 by ($0.06). The business had revenue of $559.23 million during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $563.17 million. Casella Waste Systems had a positive return on equity of 5.04% and a negative net margin of 0.56%. The firm’s revenue was up 15.2% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the company earned $0.42 EPS. As a group, analysts predict that Casella Waste Systems will post 1.24 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling

In related news, Director Douglas R. Casella sold 1,343 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Friday, August 14th. The shares were sold at an average price of $91.12, for a total value of $122,374.16. Following the completion of the transaction, the director directly owned 90,141 shares in the company, valued at $8,213,647.92. The trade was a 1.47% decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available at the SEC website. Also, Director Michael K. Burke sold 1,100 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction on Thursday, September 3rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $95.26, for a total transaction of $104,786.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the director owned 13,641 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,299,441.66. This represents a 7.46% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale is available in the SEC filing. Insiders have sold a total of 3,738 shares of company stock worth $348,700 in the last ninety days. Corporate insiders own 3.78% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Trading of Casella Waste Systems

Several hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in the company. Advisors Asset Management Inc. purchased a new stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems during the 3rd quarter worth about $2,093,000. GW&K Investment Management LLC grew its position in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 1.3% during the 3rd quarter. GW&K Investment Management LLC now owns 230,769 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $18,542,000 after acquiring an additional 2,928 shares during the period. Private Advisor Group LLC increased its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 16.4% in the 3rd quarter. Private Advisor Group LLC now owns 3,274 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $263,000 after purchasing an additional 461 shares in the last quarter. Ieq Capital LLC purchased a new position in shares of Casella Waste Systems in the 3rd quarter valued at about $254,000. Finally, Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. increased its stake in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 29.5% in the 3rd quarter. Landscape Capital Management L.L.C. now owns 50,991 shares of the industrial products company’s stock valued at $4,097,000 after purchasing an additional 11,613 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 99.51% of the company’s stock.

Top Casella Waste Systems Stories

These are some of the CWST stories that stood out recently:

• Positive Sentiment: Barclays raised its price target to $109 from $104 and reiterated an “overweight” rating, signaling confidence in further upside. Barclays rating information
• Neutral Sentiment: Deutsche Bank raised its target to $100 from $95 but maintained a “hold” rating. BofA Securities also lifted its target, to $94 from $91; that remains below the recently cited share price. Deutsche Bank price target update BofA Securities price target update
• Neutral Sentiment: CFO Bradford Helgeson sold 195 shares under a pre-arranged plan to cover tax withholding on vested awards; the sale was small relative to his remaining stake. CFO share sale details

About Casella Waste Systems

Casella Waste Systems is a regional solid waste services company that provides collection, transfer, disposal, recycling and resource management services. Its customers include residential, commercial, municipal and industrial clients. The company operates primarily in the northeastern United States, with services across states including Vermont, New Hampshire, New York, Maine, Massachusetts, Connecticut and Pennsylvania. Its operations also include recycling and organics services designed to recover materials and manage waste.