Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) Downgraded by Jefferies Financial Group to “Hold”

Jefferies Financial Group lowered shares of Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) from a buy rating to a hold rating in a report issued on Thursday morning, Marketbeat.com reports. Jefferies Financial Group currently has $113.00 target price on the industrial products company’s stock, down from their previous target price of $115.00.

Other analysts have also recently issued research reports about the stock. William Blair started coverage on shares of Casella Waste Systems in a research note on Thursday, October 3rd. They set an “outperform” rating for the company. Deutsche Bank Aktiengesellschaft reduced their price target on 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. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus boosted their target price 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. Three research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, three have issued a buy rating and one has given a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat, Casella Waste Systems has an average rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average target price of $113.80.

Casella Waste Systems Trading Down 1.0 %

Casella Waste Systems stock opened at $105.03 on Thursday. The stock has a 50-day simple moving average of $108.69 and a 200 day simple moving average of $105.34. The stock has a market capitalization of $6.65 billion, a P/E ratio of 875.25, a PEG ratio of 3.85 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 has a 52 week low of $84.45 and a 52 week high of $114.88.

Casella Waste Systems (NASDAQ:CWST) last issued its earnings results on Wednesday, October 30th. The industrial products company reported $0.27 EPS for the quarter, missing the consensus estimate of $0.28 by ($0.01). Casella Waste Systems had a return on equity of 3.04% and a net margin of 0.46%. The business had revenue of $411.63 million for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $412.59 million. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $0.35 earnings per share. The business’s revenue was up 16.7% compared to the same quarter last year. Analysts expect that Casella Waste Systems will post 0.65 earnings per share for the current year.

Insider Buying and Selling at Casella Waste Systems

In other news, SVP Paul Ligon sold 1,730 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred 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 completion of the transaction, the senior vice president now directly owns 21,085 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,252,088.85. The trade was a 7.58 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through this hyperlink. Insiders own 4.24% of the company’s stock.

Institutional Inflows and Outflows

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in CWST. GAMMA Investing LLC raised its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 64.5% during the 3rd quarter. GAMMA Investing LLC now owns 528 shares of the industrial products company’s stock worth $53,000 after buying an additional 207 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Bay Advisors LLC acquired a new position in shares of Casella Waste Systems during the fourth quarter worth $58,000. Harbor Investment Advisory LLC boosted its holdings in shares of Casella Waste Systems by 30.2% during 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 grew its position in Casella Waste Systems by 69.1% during 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 last quarter. Finally, Amalgamated Bank increased its holdings in Casella Waste Systems by 6.4% in 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 currently owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

About Casella Waste Systems

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.